Irresistible Love and the Turnabout
by Rainbow Fruit Loop
Summary: REWRITTEN. When Kay decides that Edgeworth's love life is pathetic, she sets him a challenge: to find a partner before her eighteenth birthday. With no knowledge or experience, Miles finds himself reluctantly turning to a certain dark haired defence attorney for help. Though, with Phoenix, things aren't always as simple as they could be. Phoenix/Miles.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney. (Well. I kind of do, because I own all of the games, and that's close enough, right?) Credit for the epic characters and plot goes to Capcom.

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Okay, so, in case you missed this message on my other account, Cookie Blossom, I've decided to rewrite this fic, along with all of my others. I wrote the original 'Irresistible Love and the Turnabout' years ago, when I was just starting out at writing, and the quality of my fics have greatly improved. (: Again, spoilers for the first three games.

So, please give me the support you guys gave me last time, because I really enjoy hearing what you guys think.

~Rainbow Fruit Loop x

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter One._

"Objection! The defence has failed to prove anything yet." Miles stated, a smirk playing on his features as he watched his rival's facial expression turn from one of confident arrogance to one of horrified shock.

"Objection! Yes, I have!" Phoenix yelled, his strong voice too loud for the small courtroom. "I've proved that the witness didn't observe the moment of the crime. She's not a decisive witness. She's _lying._"

"Objection! I'll accept the fact that my witness didn't observe the actual moment of the crime, but-"

"Why did you object, then? I'm right." Phoenix interrupted, his face triumphant.

Miles sighed, and shook his head at the incompetence of the defence attorney in front of him.

_Does he ever actually _read_ the case files?_

"Please, Wright, let me finish my sentence. As I was saying, the witness may not have witnessed the exact moment of the shooting, but kindly remember the witness's profession."

When all he received was a blank stare from the blue suit-clad attorney, and an equally unintelligent look from the Judge. Miles rolled his eyes.

"The witness is a celebrity journalist. At the moment of the crime she had access to a video camera."

The audience whispered amongst themselves, obviously surprised at this mild turn of events.

"Oh…" Phoenix trailed off, and turned to his self-proclaimed assistant to whisper secrets of 'battle strategies'.

"The witness has solid evidence that the defendant shot the victim, Your Honour!" Miles revealed, folding his arms and smirking.

Again, the audience whispered - more loudly, this time - and Miles wondered briefly if they thought of the trials as messed-up films.

"Order! I will have order!" The Judge banged his gavel in an ineffectual attempt to get the audience to focus. "Mr. Edgeworth! Why didn't you present this evidence before? You could be held in contempt of Court!"

Miles shook his head. "I was trying, Your Honour, but it's hard to make a point when the defence cannot refrain from objecting to my every sentence."

The Judge blinked. "Oh. Right. Don't let me stop you, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Indeed, Your Honour. Now, I would like draw the court's attention to this disk." Miles held up a disk which was reflecting the light, making it shine all the colours of the rainbow.

"That's the footage of the victim being murdered, right?" Phoenix asked, his dark eyebrows furrowing.

_You're beaten, Wright. Just admit it._

"Good observations, Wright." Miles murmured under his breath. "Yes, it is." he said, his voice louder this time. "Shall I play it, Your Honour?"

"Yes."

Miles walked over to the small laptop in the middle of the courtroom, inserted the disk, and watched as the screen flickered to life.

The laptop was connected to a projector, and Phoenix's eyes widened as he saw his client holding a gun.

_No matter how many times I watch this video clip, it still sends chills down my spine. Despite being a prosecutor and watching people die often, I still don't like it._

Miles glanced over at the defence attorney on his left. Phoenix was anxiously running a hand through his already-spiky hair, making in stand up on even more bizarre angles.

The prosecutor felt a small pang of something he didn't quite understand as he thought about Phoenix's feelings at the moment. The footage was definitely going to prove the defendant's guilt, and Wright didn't like losing.

Miles snapped out of his thoughts, eyes flickering towards the moving images.

Not much was happening in the film at the moment; the witness was simply filming the people entering the large building on the left of the screen.

It was a celebrity party, Miles assumed, judging by the witness's occupation, and the people waltzing towards the building were all wearing smart clothing - glitter and bright colours, long dresses and tuxedos, lipstick and ties.

After a few minutes of not much, a loud crash resounded throughout the courtroom.

The angle of the filming changed dramatically as the witness whirled around towards the darkness. She moved forwards - slowly and hesitantly - until she reached the back entrance, where the courtroom was treated with a view of two people standing a few metres apart.

Everything was silent until a skinny, dark haired man - very obviously the defendant - spoke up.

"_Get outta my way, girly._"

"_No. This is the staff-only entrance. You're not allowed in through this door._"

"_I don't give a fuck, do I? I don't have time for your crap. Let me through, or I'll have to do something drastic._"

There was a squeal of terror emitted from the victim as the defendant pulled a gun out of the inside of his jacket.

"_Listen here. I've got things to do, and I'm going to be killed unless you let me in. I don't want to do this, but unless you move…_"

The threat was left hanging in the air, and Miles heard a faint sob coming from the victim's mother.

"_No, please, I'll lose my job… Please, no-_"

The bang was loud and harsh, and the victim fell over backwards - a jet of crimson blood spraying from her body.

Miles winced as he heard the victim scream. She was still alive, and it had been a slow, painful death.

The camera then dropped to the ground, and the footage ended.

The entire court was silent.

"There is my evidence. That is all, Your Honour." Miles said grimly, stepping forwards to take the disk out of the laptop.

"If that was taking place, then why did the witness not do anything to stop it?" Phoenix asked, looking pointedly at the witness.

The witness was a pretty girl - blonde and small with too many bangles around her thin wrists.

"I would rather think that-" Miles began, before Phoenix interrupted with his trademark objection.

"Objection! I was talking to the _witness,_ Edgeworth!"

Miles shut his mouth.

All eyes turned to towards the witness who was looking close to tears.

"I didn't… He had a gun… I didn't want to die…" she whimpered. "It was either her, or both of us…"

Phoenix frowned, but didn't object to the statement.

"Through this video, we can easily identify the motive for murder." Miles said, picking up the papers on the table in front of him.

"The defendant, Callumn Hinnie, is a member of a local gang. Said gang is called 'The Angels'."

Phoenix snorted in amusement, and Miles turned his glare up another notch.

"'The Angels' have been involved in a number of high end thefts recently, and we can assume that this party was just another targeted robbery. If you can recall, the party was one for celebrities, but whether they were planning on stealing equipment or jewellery is both unknown and unnecessary at this point."

The defendant scratched at his head, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

"The victim, Alicia O'Connor, was an unarmed detective who was standing guard on the night of the party. She was a first year detective, hence the unprofessional attitude to the situation. She was forbidden from allowing anyone - save the catering staff - from entering through that door. When the homicide division went to examine the crime scene, they made note of the expensive electronics inside the building. His motive for murder was simply that she refused to give him entry to the building, and, therefore, she had to be dealt with."

Miles let a self-satisfied smirk reign free on his features.

_There is _no_ way that Wright can wriggle out of it this time._

The Judge stroked at his chin thoughtfully. "Hm. That sounds like a reasonable motive for murder."

"Indeed."

_It's about time that I beat Wright. Surely he can't deny the fact that his client is guilty._

"I think I have enough evidence to hand down a correct verdict." The Judge stated. "Would the defendant please take the stand?"

The defendant shuffled to the stand, hooded sweatshirt covering his face.

"I see no reason to prolong this trial. The court finds the defendant, Callumn Hinnie, guilty. That is all. The Court is adjourned."

* * *

Miles stepped out of the courtroom, his tired eyes closing for a brief second before he started walking towards the courthouse cafeteria.

_It feels good to have such a simple case closed and won within a day. _

As he walked, Miles listened to the sound of the footsteps on the highly polished floor. His own were quick and sharp, revealing that he had a place to be, and that he wasn't going to waste time. Others were slow and lazy; much reflecting the personality of other, less busy humans.

When someone stopped walking in front of Miles - causing him to halt abruptly - the prosecutor looked upwards.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of dark hair, pink clothes and glitzy gold.

His eyebrows furrowed.

_Kay?_

He smiled lightly to himself when she finally caught his eyes - breaking out into a run.

_I must admit; it's good to see her again._

The memories of times past shared and experiences fought together swirled around inside his head, acting like a slideshow.

Finally, Kay managed to navigate her way through the unmoving hoard of people - closing the distance between them with a huge bear hug.

"Hi, Mr. Edgeworth!" she enthused after she had pulled away, beaming up at him through dark eyes.

"Kay Faraday. It's great to see you again." he said, returning the smile with a hint of hesitance.

"How are you?" she asked him eagerly, tilting her head to the side as she waited for his answer.

"I'm fine, thank you, Kay. Busy. How about yourself?"

"I'm great! It's nice to be back in America." she smiled to herself, absentmindedly brushing her fringe out of her eyes; drawing Miles' eyes to the large key perched on top of her head.

"I'm sure it is. How was your trip?" he asked her, still fully aware of the fact that they weren't moving, and everyone around them was.

_I'll acknowledge that fact that I've missed you, Kay. Your laughter and happy-go-lucky charisma is infectious._

_And Wright did say that you made me more human - not that I care what his opinion of me is._

"It was really interesting. Very fun, too." Kay laughed, her eyes shining with her trademark happiness.

"How's your current, er, profession coming along?" he asked. "Or have you, perhaps, changed it to something more… _legal_?"

"Of course not! I'm not going to let my Dad down!" Kay enthused, a faintly horrified expression on her face. "But it's going great. I haven't actually stolen anything yet, though…" she mused, pressing a finger to her lips as she thought.

_As "The Great Thief Yatagarasu", she seems completely inadequate. I don't quite think she's suited for the career._

"Good work, Kay. Keep it that way." Miles suggested, eyebrows raising in slight amusement.

"You wish! What's so wrong about stealing information about black market trades and bringing criminals to justice?" she asked happily, punching her fists in the air in enthusiasm. "It's what you do, isn't it?"

"We've had this argument so many times, Kay. I bring people to justice in a more… _conventional _way."

"You're a stick in the mud, Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay commented, lips curling upwards into a devious grin.

"So I've been told."

"So, how's the Prosecutors Office?" she asked.

"Busy." Miles stated, looking at his watch. "I was just about to have lunch at the Courthouse Cafeteria. Would you care to join me?"

"Sure! We need to catch up!"

"Surely we've already done that." Miles grumbled under his breath.

* * *

"So, Kay, what bought you back to America? I thought you were going to be staying in Bolivia for another six months?" Miles asked, taking a sip of his mineral water.

_I wondered how long that particular 'adventure' would last._

"Well, it's my birthday in a few weeks, and I'll be turning eighteen! So, I thought, 'I can't have a birthday bash without my friends!' So, I decided to come back to America for a while."

"That sounds… great." Miles commented indifferently. "What type of "birthday bash" are you having?" He didn't particularly care, but thought that asking questions would be the polite thing to do.

"Just a casual hangout with friends and stuff. Food. Singing. Dancing. Loud music. Games." Kay shrugged. "That sort of thing. But I won't let you come without a partner."

"Why am I invited to this? I don't have a partner to bring." Miles grumbled.

"No girlfriend?" Kay asked, amazed shock causing her eyes to widen.

"No." The current conversation topic was starting to make Miles feel uncomfortable.

"Have you _ever _had a girlfriend, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"No."

Kay made a noise of exasperation. "Why not?"

"I have never felt the urge to pursue a romantic relationship with somebody." Miles shook his head slightly. "Besides; I'm far too busy."

Miles _thought _he heard Kay mutter 'asexual' under her breath, but chose to ignore the childish action.

Kay's smile suddenly turned wicked. "I have a deal for you then. You have to find a partner by my birthday party or else I won't let you use the "Little Thief" ever again."

Miles groaned to himself, narrowly resisting the urge to face palm.

_I really don't think that my personal life has anything to do with you, Kay._

"Let's not be drastic, Kay." Miles said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "We both know that your "request" is very unreasonable. I won't have time to find a partner."

"You don't want to be alone for the rest of your life, do you?" Kay wailed; always one to be a touch melodramatic. "You'll never know what it feels like to _love _- what it feels like to _be _loved!"

"It's worked for the past ten years, so I really wouldn't worry." Miles said, sarcasm lacing his voice.

"Whatever. The deal is set, and you can't back out. It's for your own good, so don't complain." Kay said cheerily.

"That's hardly fair, Kay." Miles already knew that trying to reason with the dark haired menace was a waste of time. "I don't know the first thing about dating! How am I supposed to get a date by your party with my limited lack of knowledge _and _time?"

"You'll manage. You always do." Kay reminded him gently.

_Great. Just when I thought that life couldn't get any more inconvenient._

* * *

Miles sighed to himself, and plucked absentmindedly at a bit of invisible fluff on his arm.

He was irritated - to say the least - by Kay's childish bet. It was a waste of time - yet something he couldn't dare to ignore, because, without the "Little Thief", work was tiresome and long. Kay wouldn't change her mind, because she was as stubborn as she was frustrating.

_I really don't need this bother. I'm far too busy. _

_How am I going to get a 'date'? I don't have a clue about how to start relationships, or even how to meet a potential date, or anything like that._

…_This is all nonsense._

Miles was sitting at the desk in his office, staring glumly at the blank piece of paper in front of him, when a thought struck him.

…_Maybe…. Maybe I could call Wright? _

_Hmph._

…_Would he help me? Would he know anything about relationships? I guess there's only one way to find out - no matter how demeaning it may be._

Before he had the chance to change his mind, Miles picked up his cell phone and held down button number one. It surprised him when he realised that Phoenix's cell phone number was on the top of his speed-dial list.

_When did I put him on my speed dial? …And why did I subconsciously know which number he is?_

Miles dismissed the thoughts from his mind, deeming them as 'unimportant' and 'a waste of time'.

He held the phone to his ear impatiently, fingers drumming against the desk as he waited.

_Come on, Wright. Answer your phone._

"Uh, hey. Is that you, Edgeworth?" Phoenix's hesitant voice rang out through the speakers of Miles' phone.

"Yes, Wright. I'm calling because of a certain situation that has aroused because Kay Faraday has come back to America." Miles said quickly, interrupting Phoenix's inevitable words of concern.

"…What has she done…?" Phoenix asked after a few seconds, his voice uncertain.

"She's invited me to her eighteenth birthday party. The catch is that I cannot use her device the "Little Thief" without attending with a partner of a romantic nature."

"Why does she care?" Phoenix asked curiously, his interests straying.

"I don't know, Wright." Miles snapped. "But I need the "Little Thief" and I need a partner."

"Ask an ex-girlfriend?" Wright suggested.

"I don't have one." Miles shot back.

"Ask a friend to pretend to date you?"

"I don't have any female friends."

Miles ignored the chuckle that came from Phoenix's end of the phone.

"So, let me get this straight. You don't have any _female _friends, or any _female _interests at the moment, and you need a partner of a _romantic _nature. So you decided to call me. Right?"

Miles murmured in agreement.

"Well, Edgeworth, while I'm flattered by your interest-"

"Wait, no, objection!" Miles managed to burst out, cheeks quickly turning red. "I'm not asking _you _to be my partner. No. Not at all. That would be strange. And unpleasant. And-"

"Calm down, Edgeworth. I was only joking. I know you're not asking me to date you because you were overcome by a sudden passionate love."

Miles could almost _hear _Phoenix rolling his eyes down the line.

"No. Okay, I have a suggestion then. I'll help you to find a partner if you _promise _to be nice to me."

_Help me find a partner? Is he completely stupid? _

"Wright…" Miles groaned, scrubbing a hand across his face. "Will that really help? Even if - by a long shot - we find someone _willing _to date me, we both know that I won't be able to sustain the desires of said woman for long."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Edgeworth. I'm sure we could find _some_ sad loser willing to be your girlfriend_."_ Phoenix sniggered to himself.

Miles wished that glares could be transmitted and received via cell phones.

"Very funny, Wright. I just don't understand any of this "relationship" nonsense. It's a waste of time. And I don't think that you're going to be able to help me, so-"

"Come on, Edgeworth. Give me a chance. I'll teach you everything you need to know about keeping a girlfriend. I _do_ want to help you. And, if for some reason we can't find you a girlfriend, then you can go with me. We can pretend that we're madly in love or something. Then I'll 'break up' with you, and Kay will be none the wiser."

Miles scowled to himself.

"…I'd be the one breaking up with you, Wright." he muttered darkly, struggling to keep a sudden surge of strange heat from colouring his face.

Phoenix chuckled to himself.

Miles sighed in defeat. "All right. I'll let you teach me what I need to know. This had better be worth my time."

_Great. Just great. Now I have to have 'lessons' with the fool. He'll just end up teasing me about my lack of knowledge when it comes to love._

_This will be such a waste of time._

"Great. You free tomorrow?" Phoenix asked.

"I suppose. What are you planning?"

"Pizza. The pizza place round the corner from the Courthouse? We can chat then. I don't think you'll learn these things over the phone." The humour in Phoenix's voice was evident, and it made Miles scowl.

"Ha." Miles muttered sarcastically, absentmindedly fiddling with his pen. "If you irritate me, Wright, I _will _stop these lessons."

"You make it sound like you're the one doing _me _the favour." Phoenix pointed out, his voice slightly smug. "This is all for you, you know."

_But is it?_

"I'm sure. Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow at the pizza restaurant at twelve."

"Twelve thirty would be better for me." Phoenix commented.

"Twelve."

"Okay, fine. It's a date then."

"Wright…" Miles mumbled, warning tones rumbling though his voice.

"Sorry. Couldn't help it. See you tomorrow, Edgeworth."

"Goodbye, Wright."

Miles hung the phone up with a childish stab of satisfaction.

_Okay. Well, this is going to be a waste of time, but I guess I should be thankful that Wright is willing to give up his, er, 'precious' time to help me. _

_He's a better friend than I thought._

_This is going to be horrible, and he knows it._

Miles snapped his eyes shut; two fingers making their way up to rub sharply at each of his temples. He could feel a migraine coming on.

_I just… don't want to be in a relationship. But I don't think I have a choice._

Miles sighed to himself, and glanced down at the stack of papers on his desk. He had a report to write up for the case he had just won, and the task ahead seemed like a good way to forget his troubles; as gruelling and tedious as it would be.

Saying that, Miles was always happiest when he was working; though happiness seemed like an exceedingly difficult thing for him to find. The depression he often felt clung to his skin like tendrils of mist - its lonely, miserable fingers scratching across his skin in a way that made him feel uncomfortable in his own body.

It was a suffocating kind of mist - foggy and bleak - and he was waiting for the day that it lifted, letting him breathe in the warm, sweet air that brought smiles to the faces of everyone around him; the musical air that looked like gold and sounded like laughter.

He was waiting, and he was hoping.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hi, guys! Chapter two of the edited version is up! Please, guys, continue to read and review! I was pleased with all of the reviews I got last time, but it seems as though you're not as enthusiastic this time round! (: A special thanks to Sheryl E W for your lovely review!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop x

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Two._

Phoenix sat at his desk, sighing in frustration as the ancient computer in front of him struggled to wake up from its slumber. Impatiently, he tapped his foot on the floor, stomach growling loudly.

Narrowing his eyes at the screen in front of him, he got out of his office chair and stalked off into the small kitchen. He opened the fridge in a futile attempt to find some sort of edible snack amongst the food that Maya bought because she thought that it was healthy, and the food that they were _supposed _to eat yesterday, but didn't quite get around to it. He sniffed half-heartedly at a half-empty can of spaghetti, before wrinkling his nose and tossing it in the bin.

_Why is there never anything to eat in this place?_

After a few more minutes of searching, Phoenix managed to locate a large slice of not-mouldy cheese and bacon pizza. Not quite the healthy breakfast he was going for, but it would do.

He took a large bite and returned to the computer, smiling triumphantly as the screen lit up blue; a message popping up telling him to type in his password. He typed said password out with an exaggerated caution – getting _one_ letter wrong meant having to delete the _entire_ password and start again.

He glanced at the little white numbers on the right-hand side of his computer screen - the time was nine thirty in the morning. Maya was supposed to be coming to the office at ten.

_There's not much point in her turning up. I'm meeting Edgeworth at twelve, and she won't do any work by herself. _

_I guess I should call her and tell her not to bother coming before she turns up at the door._

Phoenix got out of his chair - half-eaten pizza discarded - and started scouting around the office for his cell phone. Upon locating it, he opened his contacts menu and found Maya's name.

She picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Nick! I was just leaving!" Maya's happy-go-lucky voice rang out over Phoenix's phone's speakers.

"Hey, Maya. I'm just calling to say that you don't need to come into the office today because I'm not going to be there, and I _know _that you won't do any work if I'm not with you."

Phoenix could imagine Maya's cheeks puffing out as she announced, "I _do _work, Nick! And why aren't you going to the office? Are you sick? Did you fall down the stairs or something? I told you that stairs were dangerous for the uncoordinated, but you didn't listen!" she said, barely-concealed laughter creeping its way into the conversation.

"Maya, your empathy amazes me." Phoenix replied, both face and voice deadpan.

"Aw, thank you, Nick!"

"It was sarcasm, Maya. Sarcasm."

"Oh. Okay. Why won't you be in the office then? _Are_ you ill?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, I'm not ill. I'm meeting someone for lunch." Phoenix revealed, absentmindedly running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Aw. How cute, Nick! Are you meeting Iris?" Maya questioned.

_Iris. The girl I was in love with during my college years. It's such a pity that she deceived me, even if it was kind of for my own good. _

_I thought that I would find love again her after I found her for the second time. Why is the spark not there anymore? Am I too scared of falling hopelessly in love again after having my heart broken?_

_Could I ever love Iris again? Or would I just love the girl I thought she was?_

"Well?" Maya asked, causing Phoenix to snap out of his thoughts. He didn't particularly want to drift down that exact line of thinking anyway, because the situation confused him, and he'd rather keep a clear head.

"Er, no. It's not Iris. She's still at Hazakura, anyway, isn't she?" he asked, wondering what she'd told him in her last letter.

"I don't know! _You_ should know, Nick. You're the one in love with her~"

"I'm not in love with her, Maya." Phoenix said, licking his lips slowly.

Because he _thought _it was true. And even if it wasn't, it was easier to deny it than it was to accept it.

"Sure, Nick. I believe you." Phoenix could almost _hear_ Maya smirking down the line. "Anyway, if you're not meeting Iris, then who _are_ you meeting?" Maya asked, curiosity weaving its way into her words. "A new girlfriend you haven't told me about? Niiiick!"

"Calm down, Maya. You don't need to be so melodramatic. I'm only meeting Edgeworth." Phoenix commented, trying to force his voice into an unnatural state of boredom, when, really, he was quite excited, because he'd never really spent that much time with Edgeworth.

"What? Like, Miles Edgeworth?" Maya asked, sounding slightly shocked.

"No, the other Edgeworth we know." Phoenix muttered sarcastically. "Yes, the pink-clad, emotionally unattached prosecutor who was _once _my best friend."

"Oh. Why are you meeting him? Is _he _ill?"

"For God's sake! No one's ill!" Phoenix said, exasperated. "I'm just meeting him because we're friends."

_Telling her the truth will make Edgeworth homicidal, and when he's homicidal is never really a good time to tell him what he's doing wrong when it comes to love._

"That sounds boring." Maya replied, her voice monotonous. "Can I come?"

"…No. I thought you said it was boring?" Phoenix questioned, stifling a chuckle.

"Free food, Nick!" Maya enthused.

"Still a no, sorry. You weren't invited, so it would be rude if you came."

Maya huffed into the phone, before sighing. "Okay, fine. I'll stay here. Alone in Kurain. Well, apart from Pearly. I'll be bored, Nick. Bored and hungry."

"I'm not giving you any sympathy, Maya. I have no money now, thanks to you."

"Have fun, Nick!" Maya said, carefully edging around the accusation.

"I will. Bye, Maya."

"Bye!"

Phoenix pushed the 'end call' on his phone, and rubbed at his temples. No matter how fun talking to Maya was, he always ended conversations with her with a slight headache.

He glanced over at the ever-growing pile of papers by his mouse pad which needed typing out, and screwed his face up.

_What's the point in actually working? I'm going to be meeting Edgeworth soon, anyway._

Phoenix pondered what he could do to make it look like he was working, but without the effort, before grinning to himself.

_I really need to type out that IOU list between myself and Maya. Make it an official document and all that._

After locating the discarded IOU sheet, Phoenix opened up Microsoft Word, and started typing. Unsurprisingly, all of the debts were _Maya's._

_What does she spend all of my money on?_

_Burgers, ice cream, lemonade, burgers, chocolate, lip gloss, burgers, hair ties._

…_No wonder why I _never _have any money._

At the end of the task, Phoenix counted up the total amount of money Maya owed him.

Seventy five dollars.

Phoenix sighed in defeat, and shook his head. He only owed Maya six dollars, and that was to help pay for the electricity bill.

_Go figure._

He saved the document under the title "IOU LIST, DON'T LET MAYA SEE IT OR SHE'LL DELETE IT", and smirked to himself.

_Take that Maya! Next time you try to use your usual excuse - the "Oh, I'm sorry, I seem to have lost the IOU list. Oh well, I don't think you owed me _that _much, I'll let it slide' excuse, I'll present you with this!_

Phoenix looked up at the clock; frowning at the revealed time.

"Well, that seems to have killed ten minutes," he muttered to himself, "What to do now?"

He glanced back down at the pile of reports that he was avoiding like the plague. He was _sure _it had gotten bigger since he had last glared at it.

_I should do those reports. Come on, Phoenix. Think like Edgeworth._

_Maybe I'll chill. Maybe I won't do _anything_ until I have to leave. _

_Or, maybe I'll be like superman, and get through all those reports super quick?_

Phoenix glanced down at the desk, and located a clean sheet of paper. He picked up a pencil that really needed sharpening - but they'd lost the sharpener in that tragic accident with the pretend snow and the kittens - and proceeded to spend twenty minutes drawing a picture of himself as superman.

After finishing the masterpiece, he labelled it 'Ace Attorney', and signed it just in case.

_They should make a cartoon out of me as superman. It'd be awesome! "Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright speeds through the air at one hundred miles an hour, fighting for justice, saving innocent lives, capturing evil criminals, and generally being great."_

_Yeah. I'd watch it._

Phoenix started laughing quietly to himself; a gentle humming noise in the endless silence of his office.

He glanced up at the clock again. Ten fifteen. Not too long until he had to meet Edgeworth, but he didn't feel he could justify spending the rest of the day on the sofa eating chocolate biscuits and attempting to watch something on their crappy little television.

Instead, Phoenix glanced at the mess on his desk. He couldn't actually remember what colour the surface underneath the papers was. Brown? White? Speckled?

He couldn't actually find things on it most of the time, and decided that, in order to avoid the pile of paperwork for another day, would clean said desk and make it organised.

Phoenix sighed, and started to go through the loose sheets of paper on the surface of the mess, dividing them into two piles; 'Keep' and 'Shred'.

"Old report, old report, old report, un-paid bill, old client details…" he muttered to himself, watching as the 'Shred' pile grew and grew and grew.

After he had finished 'sorting', he gathered the 'Shred' pile and located the paper shredder.

He sited the 'on' button, and grinned to himself as the machine started whirring; a distinctly machine noise that would surely rid him of all of his unwanted papers. Sure, bits of the machine were held together by dusty duct tape, but it still worked. Usually.

He grabbed the pile of discarded papers, and started shoving them into the paper shredder with an unnecessary amount of force. It was strangely satisfying, shredding paper; seeing the once-important notes ripped apart and left to grow dusty in the bottom of the machine.

After ten minutes of shredding, he had stopped categorising everything into 'Keep' and 'Shred' piles, and was simply shredding everything he could get his hands on.

_Ah, if it's really important, it'll be in the folder._

When he had shredded everything he could, he looked down at the surface of his desk with a smile.

_Brown's the colour, then._

He picked up the pen tin which lay, discarded, on the off-white carpet underneath his desk, and placed it gingerly on top of his clean desk. Phoenix then started to heap his pencils and pens into it, surprising himself with the number he had.

_Maybe I should throw some of them away? They barely fit into the tin… I mean…_

Phoenix started to count his pens with an eager haste.

…_I hardly need nine blue pens, twelve black pens, five red pens, two green pens - all of dubious ink levels - and twenty three pencils, do I?_

* * *

Phoenix hopped off the bus and started heading towards to pizza place. He was shivering slightly in the cool air - his thin grey t-shirt and black jeans doing nothing to keep his body warm.

As he walked, he wondered idly what Edgeworth would be wearing.

…_Probably his _pink _work clothes. I must remember to tell him that cravats didn't feature in 'The Sexiest Items in Your Wardrobe' magazine article. _

Phoenix chuckled to himself nervously, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

To his surprise, he _was _nervous about meeting Edgeworth. To say they were friends, they really didn't spend that much time together. In fact, the last time that he had knowingly and willingly met Edgeworth out of court was, well, never.

Phoenix turned the corner of the busy street, and noticed the large sign practically screaming 'ANGELO'S PIZZA RESTAURANT" at him.

He wandered into the shop and looked around; trying to catch a glimpse of the pink-clad prosecutor.

Phoenix finally located him. He was sitting alone in a booth at the back of the room, eyes closed and fingers against his temples.

Phoenix felt a small stab of sympathy for his friend. He knew how much of a deal this was to Edgeworth; how far they were going to go out of his comfort zone, and how much he must subconsciously trust Phoenix to let himself be taken out this far.

Phoenix smiled to himself, and strode over to Edgeworth, plonking himself down on the red-cushioned seats.

"Hey, Edgeworth. I must say, I'm actually surprised you turned up. I thought you'd chicken out!"

_Good job, Phoenix. Make sure that the first thing you say to him is an insult. Just to, you know, make sure you're on his good side._

Miles opened his eyes, his pupils focusing on the face in front of him. "Good afternoon, Wright." he said, a scowl on his usually handsome face.

"How long were you waiting?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"Twenty minutes. Though, I wasn't actually expecting you to be _on time._" Miles muttered, hands moving to rest gently on the tabletop.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You know how it is. Public transport and all that."

"No, no, I wouldn't know. I own a car. And a legitimate driver's license. Something you wouldn't understand."

Phoenix frowned to himself, and decided to ignore Miles' comment.

"So, how have you been?" he asked instead.

"Busy."

"…Me too…" Phoenix murmured; a dull lie barely concealing the obvious truth.

"I'm sure."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes; Phoenix pretending to admire the interior of the restaurant, and Miles just looking unimpressed.

_Well, this is awkward._

"Okay, well, when is this birthday party?" Phoenix asked, getting straight down to it.

"She hasn't decided on a date yet."

_That's helpful._

"Right."

Silence.

"Um, let's just get over this awkwardness. Let's start with how you dress-"

"What's wrong with how I dress?" Miles demanded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well, there's an awful amount of pink going on." Phoenix edged around the question. "And cravats aren't exactly sexy, Edgeworth."

Miles scowled. "First off; it's not pink, it's _magenta. _Secondly_: _it's not _supposed_ to be sexy, Wright. I _work_ in it. I don't do anything… _inappropriate_ in it." he argued, cheeks glowing slightly.

Phoenix resisted the urge to snigger.

"Do… _things _like that disturb you, Edgeworth?" he enquired, asking the question delicately so that Miles wouldn't get uncomfortable and leave.

There was silence from Miles' side of the booth, and Phoenix was considerate enough not to push the subject.

_Edgeworth is always the exception to the rule._

"Okay, well, whatever. Let's not go there. I think you should lose the cravat. And the _magenta - _which is actually a shade of pink - suit. It doesn't exactly scream, 'I'm masculine, take me to bed.'"

"I don't want it to scream 'Take me to bed'." Miles spluttered. "I'm a respectful, chivalrous-"

"Virgin?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Please don't go there, Wright." Miles said darkly. It sounded like more of a threat than a plea.

"Well, come on, Edgeworth. You're in your thirties. It's ridiculous! Maybe if you weren't such a pompous arse, people might actually be interested in you!"

Phoenix didn't really know why he was suddenly attacking the things that he _knew _made Edgeworth uncomfortable. He knew that he should stop while he was ahead - mocking Edgeworth was all well and good until it got personal.

"Just leave it. You don't know what you're talking about, Wright."

"I know enough to know that never having had a girlfriend or boyfriend at your age is completely stupid. Haven't you ever wondered what all the fuss about _love _is about?"

"No, I have never wondered. I have my work, and, perhaps, that's where I should be now. It is preposterous that I was foolish enough to believe that you could help me." Miles got up from his seat and made a move to leave.

Phoenix grabbed his arm, and held onto it; his grip strong and unwavering.

_Good one, Phoenix._

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Phoenix hastily apologized. "Please don't go. Let's just leave that subject altogether. Just… Remember, I'm the one who knows what to do in these sorts of situations. You have to listen to me."

Miles, who was obviously still smarting over the attack of his personal life, sat back down and smirked in response. "Do you, Wright?"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, 'course I do."

"Then why don't _you_ have a partner at the moment? Because it rather seems as though you're in the same situation as me - without a significant other, that is. If you're so bloody good with these things, why haven't you got someone?"

Phoenix hesitated, the accusation stinging.

"I've had my fair share of relationships, Edgeworth. I've had experience with these things." he said slowly. "I am currently not in a relationship because I haven't found someone I like enough."

"What about Ms Fey? Is she not your best friend? You love her, do you not?" Miles seemed smug, and the expression on his face irritated Phoenix.

"Yes, of course I love her. But she's my best friend, Edgeworth. It's a platonic love. That's not all I want in a lover."

"Surely you can alter your perception of her to something more intimate? I don't see why there should be a difference."

"Because when I look at Maya, I don't feel like I did when I looked at Dahlia. Or, rather, Iris." Phoenix said, exasperated.

_Why can't he just _see? _Why is he always so goddamned obtuse when it comes to love?_

"And look how well that turned out, Wright. You feel madly in love with her and she tried to kill you. Yes, you're a real expert when it comes to relationships." Miles finished vehemently.

_That bastard._

"Leave her out of this. Leave _that _out of this." Phoenix all but snarled, the wounds he had thought had recovered torn open because of the latest case at Hazakura.

Because it did hurt. Even after all of this time, it hurt. He had loved Dahlia, at least, he thought he had. She was everything that he wanted - someone to love, someone to care for; a beautiful angel sent to him because someone up there knew how much he longed for love.

"Look, you can find your own partner _on your own. _I'm not going to bother anymore." Phoenix said hotly, standing up. "I tried to help you, Edgeworth. I wanted to help you. But you're too much of a jerk. I'm wasting my time; you'll never find someone to love you, and it's _your _fault."

With that, Phoenix stormed out of the restaurant, and ignored the judgemental stares of the other diners; their muted whispers still reaching his ears.

'_Lover's tiff', 'overdramatic', 'what's wrong with him?'_

_Stare all you want. I won't be seen with that man again._

Phoenix stomped all the way to the bus stop without stopping, wiping angry tears from his eyes as he went.

He had to admit it, he was disappointed. He was hoping that this meeting could have encouraged more encounters between the two - and perhaps they could have regained just a _fraction _of the friendship they had back in the day.

He'd never met another person, save for Maya, who had affected him this deeply. To be longing for a friendship that ended decades ago - surely he was losing his mind. But there was just _something _about Edgeworth that made his grin wider than usual, made his laugh louder than normal. He hadn't figured out exactly what made his heart race at the sight of the prosecutor, but he knew that it was a friendship-of-sorts that he didn't want to lose.

A gentle, hesitant touch on his arm made Phoenix jump. He turned around to stare into the dark grey eyes of the very man on his mind.

"What do you want?" Phoenix asked dully.

"I want… to apologise. Bringing Dahlia into our conversation was wrong of me, and I wish to express regret of my lack of etiquette." Miles murmured, both his voice and eyes low.

"Yeah, it was." Phoenix replied sharply. "But… yeah, I'm sorry too. For, you know, the… things I said."

_Yeah. I think my apology was _almost _as elegant as Edgeworth's._

"Would you mind going back to the restaurant with me? I will try to stop being insensitive, and start being more… _accommodating_." Miles said, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced up at Phoenix.

"Uh, sure. We can… We can just pretend that this argument never happened." Phoenix said brightly, the more optimistic part of him instantly forgiving Miles. "Besides, I'm starving."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Okay, guys. I must say, I am a little disappointed by the lack of response this fic has received. You guys were all so supportive and enthusiastic the first time round, so it's a bit disheartening to see that no one's really enjoying it the second time round. BUT, I'm updating this today because of 'CloudHop' (I hope you're still reading this, CloudHop, otherwise I'm making a fool out of myself, haha), because of their lovely review (: Thank you.

Ooh, also, I decided to add some extra chapters in, because even if you guys aren't enjoying it, I sure am! (That's so sad. I need a life.) I'm only going to say one word: Sleepover. (:

Okay, so, if you read this PLEASE review, because updates might not happen as often otherwise. That's not blackmail, that's just me resigning and updating other fics :/

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx (Long author's note is loooong! And it's just me ranting about nothing.)

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Three._

Miles raised his eyebrows as the waitress arrived with the two pizzas. He had to admit; they were far larger than he was expecting. Phoenix, of course, let out a delighted 'whoop', and immediately reached for the slice closest to him.

"I think, perhaps, we could have shared a pizza." Miles murmured to himself, watching as the waitress scribbled something on the piece of paper that she had had tucked into her waistband.

Miles watched curiously as she turned to Phoenix and handed him the paper.

She leant in close - too close for Miles' comfort, though he really wasn't sure why it bothered him. "It's my number," she told Phoenix when he raised an eyebrow at her. "Call me, if you'd like a good time."

"Ah, all right. What's your name?" Phoenix asked, seemingly not bothered by the - admittedly pretty - girl's close proximity.

"Natasha." A swish of her golden hair released the scent of strawberries, and Miles resisted the urge to gag.

"That's a pretty name." Phoenix treated Natasha to his heart-melting smile, folded the piece of paper up and slipped it into his pocket. "A pretty name for a pretty face."

_That is disgusting. Is that the type of person he wants me to become?_

Miles looked down at his pizza and tried to imagine that he was anywhere but at 'Angelo's Pizza Restaurant' with Phoenix.

After a few more giggles and hushed words, Natasha left with a wink of her heavily made-up eye and a swish of her impossibly long hair.

Phoenix smirked at Miles.

"What?" he asked after he noticed Miles' disgusted expression; a second slice of pizza halfway to his mouth. "Don't judge me."

Miles rolled his eyes. "I'm not talking about the pizza. What did that girl want?"

Phoenix grinned through a mouth full of tomato-y dough. "A good time."

"Please, Wright. Eat with your mouth _closed. _You're repulsive."

Phoenix shrugged, and swallowed heavily. "Sorry."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, before Miles spoke up again.

"Are you going to call her?"

_I don't know why this girl is bothering me so much. _

Phoenix put down his pizza, wiped his hands on his jeans, and pulled the piece of paper from his pocket.

He placed it flat on the table, and both men stared at it.

**"**_**Call me if you want a little fun. I can give you the time of your life. - Natasha x"**_

The girl's number was below, and the paper was adorned with hearts of various sizes.

"Signed with a kiss?" Miles raised an eyebrow, and pushed the paper towards Phoenix.

"Yeah, well. You win some, you lose some." Phoenix crumpled the paper up, and pitched it into a nearby bin, only to do a silent cheer when it flew in.

"So, you're not going to call her." Miles repeated, trying to make sense of the situation.

_I thought that Wright would want a 'little fun'._

"Of course not." Phoenix looked a little insulted. "What do you take me for?"

"Well, I just thought… She was young, attractive, and obviously… _willing_." Miles tried not to say the word with too much disdain.

"A little bit too willing, I'd say." Phoenix muttered. "Probably throws herself at anything that breathes. _And_ I'd probably end up involuntarily paying for it."

Miles cringed, not liking where the conversation was going.

"And, besides. Did you see how much makeup she was wearing? Nah, not my type. I actually like _knowing _the person before I sleep with them."

Miles nodded slowly, and tried not to focus on the fact that Phoenix had not clarified 'woman', and had instead left it as a general 'person'.

_Like it affects me…_

"Why did you take her number, then?" Miles asked, genuinely curious. "Why did you not just tell her that she's not your type, and that you would appreciate it she left you alone?"

"Because then I would look like a jerk." Phoenix shrugged, as though the thought had not occurred to him.

"Of course." Miles glanced over at the amount of pizza that Phoenix had left, and certainly wasn't surprised to note the lack thereof.

He still had three pieces, and he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to finish it.

"Well, that was good." Phoenix hummed appreciatively, and leant back against the cushioned seat.

"Are you still hungry?" Miles asked.

"There's always room for dessert." Phoenix grinned his adorable smile, and Miles wondered why he had been treated to the heart-melting grin.

"…You want me to buy you ice cream, don't you?" Miles sighed heavily, though it was more of a 'what am I going to with you' sigh, and less of a 'you're a pain' sigh.

"…Yeah. If you're willing, of course." Phoenix smiled again, his eyes drifting to the 'Ice Cream' heading of the menu lying on the table.

"Fine, fine. Tell me what you want."

After giving him the necessary instructions, Miles sauntered up to the counter to order the ice cream. He couldn't help but to glance back at his friend, and the sight almost made him smile.

Phoenix was such a lovable person, Miles had noticed. He was all big grins and warm eyes and soft words.

_Perhaps forgetting this whole 'find your other half' idea and taking Wright instead wouldn't be such a bad idea. I think I could cope with people thinking that we were… together._

_What am I saying? That would be a horrible idea, and we would both feel awkward._

Another look at Phoenix made Miles remember the words he had uttered just half an hour before.

_Bringing Miss Hawthorne into the discussion really was low of me. I know that he loved her, and I should respect that. But why does it make me feel so… bizarre? Why does the thought of him with someone else make me feel as though I have been betrayed? _

Before his thoughts could drift off into an even more dangerous area of his mind, Miles was interrupted by the monotonous voice of the man behind the counter.

He ordered the correct ice cream sundae, and walked back over to where Phoenix was amusing himself with a napkin.

"Must you be so immature in public?" Miles asked with a sigh.

"But of course. I like to think of my immaturity as an adorable and completely innocent trait." Phoenix grinned. "Thanks for ordering the sundae."

"No problem. It'll be here in a minute."

There was a comfortable silence as Phoenix finished his napkin masterpiece - it was a paper plane, Miles thought - before he discarded it and eyed Miles curiously.

_I don't like that look, Wright…_

"Do you want me to teach you how to hold hands? It's an art, you know."

Miles smirked. "No. Definitely not. I am not a complete idiot. I _do _know how to _hold_ _hands_. It's hardly rocket science."

Phoenix returned the smirk, and held his hand out across the table. "Yeah?"

Miles looked at the offered - surprisingly large - hand and shook his head.

"Absolutely not."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Scared of a little physical contact, huh, Edgeworth?"

Miles sighed inwardly. "Not scared, no."

_I would prefer to use the word 'disgusted'. _

Phoenix wiggled his fingers invitingly. "I don't bite. Unless you want me to." He winked seductively, and Miles shuddered.

With a disgusted glare at his friend and another sigh, Miles admitted defeat, and reached out to clasp Phoenix's warm hand. His long, elegant fingers entwined around Phoenix's, slotting together perfectly - a little _too _perfectly, Miles thought uncomfortably.

_He's got artist's fingers._

"Really not that hard." Miles said pretentiously, making to release his grip.

"Nuh uh, Edgeworth," Phoenix held on tightly, his thumb making slow, soothing circles into the tender skin of Miles' palm.

Miles shifted awkwardly; Phoenix's gentle, yet completely unabashed caress making him squirm. The feeling that the touch had inspired in his stomach was entirely alien, and he found that, strangely, he wasn't_ completely_ hating the sensation.

_What are you doing to me, Wright?_

"I-I think you should stop now, Wright." Miles managed to choke out, cursing himself for his inevitable red face. "You've done enough."

Phoenix ignored Miles' desperate plea for freedom. It seemed as though he was off in his own little world - oblivious to the reality around him. The caress became subtly softer - a whisper of a touch ghosting along his hand.

They fell into a deep silence; a timeless, yet pleasant silence. Were minutes actually hours? Or perhaps mere seconds? After a while, the feel of Phoenix stroking across his palm stopped being bizarre and unfamiliar, and, with a slight feeling of both panic and shock, Miles realised that he was _enjoying_ the contact.

_Perhaps physical contact isn't too bad. Perhaps there is actually a reason why this intimacy is so desired._

A blatant cough brought both men from their thoughts. Natasha stood at the foot of the table, an ice cream sundae in one hand, the other clamped over her mouth in a vague attempt to stop her already shoulder-shaking giggles from erupting full-force.

Miles yanked his hand away from Phoenix's warm grasp with an unnecessary force.

_For God's sake. That was subtle, Miles. Exceedingly subtle. Why couldn't I just leave our conjoined hands alone? No, I had to go and make our intimacy just _that _much_ _more_ _obvious_._ Jesus Christ, Wright. I blame you._

Natasha passed Phoenix his sundae, and turned and returned to the counter without a word; her shoulders still shaking as she suppressed her laughter.

_What is it with women? Even if we _were _holding hands in a… pleasurable way, it would certainly have been none of her business._

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Miles make the mistake of looking Phoenix in the eye.

There was something that he hadn't seen before in those crystal eyes, and Miles didn't know what it was. It seemed like a confused sort of longing, but, of course, Miles had to be wrong. He had never been good at reading people or their emotions, but this look in Phoenix's eyes made him doubt things about himself that he certainly didn't want to resurface.

Miles swallowed the lump in his throat. "Why didn't you explain that we're not actually a couple?" he hissed instead, willing the brightness in his cheeks to subside.

Phoenix, who didn't seem at all perturbed by the situation, shrugged. "What did you want me to say? 'Hi, this is my friend Edgeworth. I'm teaching him how to hold hands because he's never done it before.'"

Miles scowled, folding his arms across his chest by way of reply, and gave Phoenix's untouched sundae a pointed look. Phoenix grinned and reached for the spoon before plunging into the mass of slick white ice cream with an eager haste.

"At least now you know how to hold hands." Phoenix commented between mouthfuls. "Good for you."

Miles scowled. "Perhaps you could have told me what I was doing wrong, instead of demonstrating. My humiliation could have been avoided that way."

"Maybe." Phoenix agreed. "But your humiliation is just so funny to watch!"

Miles shot Phoenix a look that, hopefully, the idiot would recognise as an unimpressed glare.

Phoenix, being Phoenix, ignored the look, and hummed in appreciation. "This is a great sundae," he commented. "Do you want to try it?"

"Not particularly, no." Miles muttered, surreptitiously glancing at the too-glitzy golden clock that hung on the wall behind Phoenix.

"Come on. It's vanilla. With chocolate sauce!" Phoenix enthused.

"Okay, fine." Miles admitted defeat, his long fingers reaching out to grasp the chilled glass. It was only when he had already taken a mouthful of the ice cream that he realised that the two men had shared a spoon.

_His saliva was on the spoon. Now, mine is too. That's definitely got to be unhygienic. _

He passed the ice cream back across the table with a muttered, "Not bad", before glancing back at the clock.

"I had better be going, Wright. It's getting late."

Phoenix swallowed heavily, and frowned. "Really? Already?"

Miles raised an eyebrow at his - what _were_ they, exactly? Were they friends? Rivals, perhaps? Colleagues? - _associate_, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Yes. I have work to do, unlike you. Am I correct in presuming that you're not going to do anything once you get back to your office?"

"You know me too well, Edgeworth." Phoenix smiled his absolutely _stupid _grin, and, just for a second, Miles felt a stab of half-veiled affection for the defence attorney.

_I need to leave. Now. Before anything gets out of hand._

"Let's go, then." Phoenix said, standing up. "I'll walk with you to your car."

_Hoping to catch a ride, Wright?_

* * *

After paying the necessary amount for the meal to a woman who, thankfully, wasn't Natasha, the two stepped outside of the restaurant and onto the unsurprisingly crowded street.

"Where's your car parked?" Phoenix asked, quickening his pace to keep up with Miles' fast strides.

"Around the corner."

"Ah. That's where the bus stop is. You chose a good place to park."

"You want me to drop you off, don't you?" Miles sighed as the two weaved their way through the leisurely people lingering on the streets.

Phoenix was walking close, Miles noticed. Possibly too close, possibly not. Perhaps the innocent brush of shoulders, elbows, or fingers didn't bother Phoenix - for he, after all, did not have an incomprehensible phobia about physical contact.

But what bothered Miles more than the brief flickers of gentle pressure on his arm was the fact that, for the second time that day, Phoenix was touching him and he didn't hate it.

_It's nothing. I'm fine. Aren't I? Of course I am. _

_Perhaps I'm ill. No, that's nonsense. I haven't been ill in years. Then why do I feel so… light headed? Is this you, Wright? _

…_Stop it, Miles. It's nothing. You're being stupid. He's not even that close anyway._

"Oh, how kind of you to offer, Edgeworth!" Phoenix commented joyously, bringing Miles from his stupor. "Such a gentleman."

Miles narrowed his eyes at the blissfully unaware lawyer at his right. "So I've been told."

* * *

"Where do you want to be dropped off?" Miles asked as his car pulled out from its park.

"My flat, please." Phoenix replied. "I'm too tired to do any work now."

Miles rolled his eyes, and the two drove in a peaceful silence; the only noise being the quiet whisper of Miles' radio.

"What are we listening to?" Phoenix asked a few minutes later, reaching forward to turn the music up. "I don't understand any of it."

"That's because it's in German." Miles sighed.

"Oh, right!" Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Is this that band that performs songs in both English and German?" he enquired.

"I believe so. They're called 'The Gavinners.'"

Phoenix nodded; evidently impressed by the fact that someone could _possibly_ know more than one language at a time, and glanced out of the window.

"Do I turn left or right here?" Miles asked as the car approached an intersection.

Phoenix narrowed his eyebrows. "Right. No- left." He edited his comment hastily.

Miles turned to raise an eyebrow at Phoenix. "Surely you know which direction your flat is."

Phoenix shrugged. "Usually I'm on the bus at this point, and all I know is that I pay far too much to get driven to a bus stop a few metres from my apartment."

"Well, perhaps in the not-so-far future you should learn directions to your flat. It's really not that hard." Miles commented slightly arrogantly.

"Maybe. But I'll manage either way."

After a few more minutes of driving, Miles came to a stop outside of Phoenix's apartment.

"Here we go." Miles said, turning his head towards Phoenix with a silent urge of _get out now_.

"Thanks for dropping me off, Edgeworth." Phoenix said, grinning his lopsided smile. "Definitely better than taking the bus."

Miles noted that he made no move to get out of the car.

"You're welcome. Thank you for, er, teaching me how to hold hands." He cleared his throat self-consciously.

"No problem! I enjoyed it!" Phoenix enthused.

Miles raised an eyebrow.

_Did he just…?_

"Uh, not specifically the holding hands part, but just spending the day with you." Phoenix clarified after a second's thought.

"I'm sure that's what you meant." Miles smirked to himself, enjoying watching Phoenix squirm.

"I did!" Phoenix protested weakly, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Trust me; you'd have known if I had enjoyed it."

Miles scowled at Phoenix, who looked delighted at having made Miles uncomfortable.

"Well, as pleasant as this conversation about you and your… enjoyments is, I think you should get out of the car." Miles said, as polite and friendly as ever.

However, it was horrifically difficult to offend the defence attorney, so Phoenix merely shook his head in response.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. But, before I go, did you want to have another meeting?" he asked.

Miles pondered for a minute. He hadn't learnt anything all day - it had all been a massive waste of time. He had been ridiculed, embarrassed in public, and forced to think about things that - as a rule - he preferred to ignore.

On the other hand, though, he really did need to learn how to obtain a partner, and who better to teach him than Phoenix? Surprisingly, he _had_ enjoyed the company of the man beside him, yet was it really worth it? A brief flicker of actual socialization with someone he _didn't_ want to shoot _most _of the time, but with the side effect of having hours worth of work to catch up on? He knew that he wouldn't be leaving his office until much later that evening.

However, Miles soon found himself sighing. "I believe that your advice could be beneficial to my situation."

"Well, I'll take that as a 'yes, please,'" Phoenix smiled. "Call me tomorrow at some point, yeah?"

Miles nodded in a vague affirmation, and watched as Phoenix clambered out of the low-roofed car, narrowly missing hitting his head.

"Thanks for everything today." Phoenix said, smiling at Miles. "I… I missed you."

And with a bit of a start, Miles realised that he had missed Phoenix too.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's the promised update! (: You guys have been brilliant with your support this week (loveLOVE_LOVE),_ so thank you so much! You don't realise how excited I get when I see someone's reviewed a chapter of this! (I have no life like that!) So, here we go; an update a day early!

Please continue to review this fic, because every word if encouragement means a lot to me~

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Four._

"Can we watch the third one now?" Maya asked eagerly, bouncing up and down on the narrow couch.

Phoenix rubbed at his eyes. "If you want to."

The two of them were snuggled down on Phoenix's small apartment sofa, a bowl of popcorn, a bottle of Coca Cola and a few blocks of white chocolate - Phoenix's favourite - lying between them.

As the Master of Kurain - such a big title for such a scatter-brained girl - Maya had been called back to Kurain unexpectedly. As a silent way of saying _goodbye, I'll miss you, everything's better when you're by my side, _the two had lapsed into a strange tradition of having a crap movie marathon (it was the 'Steel Samurai' tonight), chatting, and eating as much junk food as humanly possible. It was a general rule that whoever ate the least was the weakest link.

"Yay! Nick, go and put it in the DVD player." Maya commanded from underneath her pile of blankets.

Phoenix sighed, and left his oh-so-comfortable position on the sofa to put the third 'Steel Samurai' movie on.

_I don't even like the 'Steel Samurai'. Why do I always let Maya choose what we watch? I don't even think _she _is watching them. She's gossiping more than she's watching._

_I'll miss her non-stop chatter when she's gone._

"Thank you, Nick!" Maya thanked when Phoenix returned from his adventure to the DVD player.

"Only for you, Maya." Phoenix grinned, settling down on the sofa beside her.

The two were both silent as the movie started; the dreadfully familiar theme song ringing out through the small room. Phoenix shifted his weight to make himself more comfortable.

"Ouch, Nick. Your legs are taking up most of the sofa," Maya complained heartily. "Shove over." She made to push Phoenix's legs off the sofa, but Phoenix caught her wrist.

"My sofa, my rules." he grinned at her, and stretched out just _that _much more.

"Is that a challenge, Nick?" Maya asked eagerly, the movie already discarded.

"Maybe. I just don't want to hurt your feelings when you're on the floor." Phoenix started laughing, but it was the type of laughter that made him sad. In a few hours, Maya would be gone, and Phoenix would be alone. Alone with no one to talk to - save for Edgeworth, if Phoenix could convince him of their budding friendship.

Phoenix was distracted from his thoughts by a particularly violent shove from Maya.

_I'm not quite sure why she thinks she can beat me in a battle of strength. I mean, I weigh loads more than her._

_And she's not exactly what I would call 'strong', or 'persistent'._

"You think you can beat me?" Phoenix mocked, giving her his strange version of an evil German laugh. He wasn't quite sure when he had started role playing, but evenings with Maya always made him act slightly bizarre. "You're going down!"

He clambered across the small sofa and wrapped his arms around Maya's slim waist, and pulled her onto his chest. She kicked out frantically, already having dissolved into hysterics. She gave a mock scream of terror as Phoenix started tickling her sides, and Phoenix wondered briefly if the couple living in the apartment on top of his would be wondering if they were overhearing a violent, gory murder.

"Let me go, Nick!" Maya giggled, resisting the capture.

Phoenix grinned to himself, and gave her hair a gentle yank, before releasing his grip. His laughter became less violent, and he smiled as he glanced around the room. Empty packets of sweets lay, discarded, on the floor, and small pieces of popcorn had been generously scattered in their fight.

He was so lost in this half-hearted investigation that he got a fright when Maya flipped him round and shoved his arms halfway up his back.

"Ow!" Phoenix cried, trying to shake Maya off. "I thought you'd given up!"

"I never give up!" came Maya's reply from on top of him. "I always win! Now, if you want to be released from my evil clutches, say 'Maya is so much cooler than Nick!'"

"No way!" Phoenix shouted, squirming underneath Maya. He started chuckling, despite the pain caused by having his arms pushed unnaturally up his back. "It's a lie!"

"Have it your way!" Maya squealed, and started pushing Phoenix's arms higher up his back.

"Ow! Okay, okay! I surrender! Maya is so much cooler than me!"

"Aw, thanks Nick!" Maya chirped, as though she was genuinely surprised at the not-quite-a-compliment. She quickly released her vicious grip on Phoenix's forearms, and un-straddled his waist.

Phoenix sat up gingerly, making a big show of rubbing at his arms.

"That was violent, even for you." he commented.

Maya smiled, and a sad silence followed.

"How long will you be gone?" Phoenix asked, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to remember what the date was.

"I don't know. A month? Maybe less, depending on what I need to do over there." Maya frowned. "Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. I mean, I don't know what I'm doing half the time!"

"I'm sure you're doing a great job." Phoenix assured his friend, pulling one of the many blankets up around his shoulders. It was cold in his small apartment - he had forgotten to pay the heating bill _again_, but, even so, he was sure that he wouldn't have had enough money anyway.

"Yeah, let's hope so!" Maya's usual optimism returned as she burrowed down next to Phoenix.

"I'll miss you, Maya." Phoenix murmured.

"I'll miss you too, Nick," came Maya's muffled, slightly tired reply.

She inched closer to Phoenix, and gently placed her head down on his chest. They were both silent; remembering what it felt like to be close to each other before they had to be separated by miles and miles.

_I suppose a lot of people think that our relationship is more than it is. I've had so many people wishing us the best of luck in our 'relationship'. I wonder how people would react if we actually said, 'Yeah, you're wrong.' They probably wouldn't believe it, because we certainly give off a 'vibe'._

_We're best friends. But it's more than that. We're closer than best friends. We're closer than siblings._

_Without Maya, this world would be a lot darker._

"I don't really see any point in watching this, Maya. We've missed quite a lot." Phoenix muttered, his attention having strayed to the moving figures on the screen.

"All right." Maya lifted her head up from Phoenix's chest, and watched his face. "What do you want to do now, then?"

"…Sleep…?" Phoenix hinted, feeling his eyelids drooping. He was going to be whacked in the morning unless he got a good few hours of sleep.

"No way, Nick!" Maya enthused. "Popcorn fight!"

* * *

Phoenix watched as the train towards Kurain sped off into the distance. He frowned to himself, wondering just when Maya would be back. It was silly, really, to miss her this much. She was only going to be a month, she said, yet a month without Maya was a month without laughter.

Saying goodbye had been hard; it always was, and Phoenix didn't feel like going into the office.

_How many days in a row is this?_

Phoenix started wandering towards the nearest bus stop, hands in pockets. He had a list of office supplies that they needed for the office, and what better way to forget his troubles than sauntering around a brightly-coloured shop with the mind-numbing task of shopping?

As Phoenix walked, he thought about his lunch with Edgeworth. It had been nice to finally spend some time with his friend _outside _of court.

_Hm. I think I annoyed him a bit yesterday. Note to self: don't annoy Edgeworth. He'll just end up_ _getting arrogant, rude and a little bit shitty._

_I wonder if he'll call me today to arrange another meeting? It'd be a shame not to see him again. _

As Phoenix walked, his mind strayed.

_Thank God for Kay. If it wasn't for her, then Edgeworth would never have needed my help. Without her, we may have been stripped of the chance to rekindle our friendship._

Phoenix wasn't sure what it was about Edgeworth. He didn't know why he was so keen to be friends again. It had been almost twenty years since the two had been close friends, and, had it been anyone else, he was sure that he would have given up.

But Edgeworth was special. Phoenix loved being in his company, even when the man was being a complete jerk. He wanted to know what made him absolutely furious, what made him smile; what he thought of the defence attorney whose life he left a mark on. Sure, Edgeworth thought of him as an idiot, but was that all an act? Perhaps Edgeworth was softer than he appeared; too afraid of the world around him to leave himself exposed and open to heartbreak.

Surely, then, if that were the case, Edgeworth needed someone to teach him otherwise? Because not everyone in the world wanted to hurt him - there _were _people who actually cared. There _were_ people who didn't want to find the note, "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death," on his desk, because, perhaps this time, there would be no happy ending; no relieved sighs of 'thank God it was only a trick'.

Phoenix shook his head to himself, and wondered when he started to care so much. Edgeworth was simply a jerk who didn't know how to act in social situations, and that's all there was to it.

But he was a jerk that Phoenix wanted to help.

"Well, if he hasn't called by lunchtime, I'll call him." Phoenix muttered to himself, by way of ending the bizarre thoughts in his head.

He made it to the bus stop, and sat down. It was a chilly day; not quite winter, yet not warm enough to brave the cold in a t-shirt. Phoenix pulled his thin jacket tighter around his body, content with the small piece of comfort from the wind it brought him.

Phoenix glanced upwards, and smiled as he saw the familiar sight of public transport driving towards him. He got up out of his seat and waited patiently; his mind wandering to what Maya would be up to.

_It's quite a long journey to Kurain. She'll probably be eating. Or reading comic books. Or falling over._

Phoenix smirked to himself as the bus came to a stop in front of him. He clambered onboard, paid the correct fee, and sat down in a vacant seat.

_I wonder if she misses me half as much as I miss her? Then again, she's got Pearls. I don't have anyone at the moment._

_Except Edgeworth. Maybe._

Phoenix glanced out of the window and watched the world pass by; bright shops and giggling teenagers, couples embracing and dull grey pavements.

_Hm. If we really want to find him a partner, I'm going to have to teach him _everything. _I can't believe he's so inept. He went bright red when I was holding his hand yesterday._

_Though, perhaps forcing him to hold my hand was a tad overboard. I don't really know why I insisted, actually. I certainly didn't benefit from it, and I'm sure it's just made Edgeworth hate me even more now._

_Though, the look on his face when Natasha interrupted _was _pretty hilarious…_

After a few more minutes of monotonous grey and people with umbrellas, the bus came to a stop. Phoenix got off his feet and hopped off - uttering a half-hearted 'thanks' to the overweight driver with terrifying ear-hair.

_Hm. Where to now, where to now? I'm hungry. Perhaps food and coffee is the best way forwards._

Phoenix started walking towards the nearest coffee shop - a shop he visited often, where the staff knew his name and sold the muffins he liked.

He walked for a while, and tried to clear his head in the process. His thoughts were jumbled up and circling around his head at an alarming pace; causing his mood to change every few minutes.

He was miserable about being parted from Maya, amused by the memories of yesterday's lunch memories, excited about his possible friendship with Edgeworth, and confused about his feelings for Iris.

Yes, at the back of his messed-up mind, even thoughts of Iris were lingering. He was sure that he hadn't fallen in love with her for the second time, but, if given the chance, what would he do? Would he take it? If she offered him her gentle, warm love, would he take the risk?

There was nothing Phoenix wanted more than to be loved and have someone to love in return. Sure, his relationship with Maya could be perceived as the love he was looking for - even Edgeworth had questioned it.

Perhaps he was looking in the wrong place? Perhaps Edgeworth and everyone else had been right all along - that it was Maya who he was looking for. Maya with all of her charm and chaos - her happy-go-lucky charisma and infectious laughter. Perhaps she was everything that he wanted - that he _needed _- in love.

But Phoenix wanted _excitement - _he desired the thrill of falling in love with someone he hadn't expected to. He'd known Maya for the longest time now - he'd practically lived with her for three years. He knew everything about her, so how could it be anything other than the best kind of platonic love?

…_I think I definitely need that coffee. All this thinking about love is going to give me a headache. I'm fine just as I am._

Phoenix shook his head in a half-hearted attempt to clear his thoughts. He wasn't usually much of a thinker - preferring to take life how it was, damn the consequences.

* * *

After wolfing down a chocolate muffin and almost inhaling a double-shot espresso, Phoenix felt on top of the world. Thoughts of Edgeworth, Maya and Iris could all disappear - he wasn't going to bother to try and sort through the dark mess in his head.

Just as he was about to get up and leave the warmth of the café, Phoenix's cell phone started to ring.

_Hm. I wonder who that could be?_

He fumbled around in his pockets for his cell phone, before whipping it out and peering at the caller ID.

_Huh. It's Edgeworth. He just can't keep away from my irresistible charm, can he?_

Phoenix grinned to himself, happy that Edgeworth had made the effort to actually call, and was just about to answer the phone, when Edgeworth rang off.

Phoenix frowned.

_Well, that's weird. Why did he ring off all of a sudden? It wasn't like I kept him waiting for hours or anything._

But Phoenix remembered the promise he'd made himself - no more thoughts about Edgeworth, Maya or Iris.

_Right. Okay. Now, I've got to do that stationary shopping. What's on the list?_

Phoenix pulled the crinkled list out of his pocket, and unfolded it.

_I don't remember writing a list quite this long…_

He glanced down at the bottom of the page, and rolled his eyes as he spotted Maya's oh-so-familiar handwriting.

_Oh God. What does Maya want with my money now…?_

Phoenix read through the list, his dark eyebrows creeping higher up his forehead with every new item.

_Do we _really_ need a paper guillotine? What's wrong with good old scissors? And… we need rainbow-coloured stamps pads, why? We don't even own any stamps! _

…_Oh. That's why Maya's instructed me to buy stamps._

Phoenix rolled his eyes in an exasperated fondness.

_Hm. Right, okay. So, according to the list, we need: whiteboard markers, lined paper, printer paper, ink cartridges, twenty white envelopes, a paper guillotine, rainbow-coloured stamp pads, stamps, gel pens, fuzzy pencils, patterned cellotape, and, finally, crepe paper._

_Well, I'm glad that Maya's being sensible here._

Phoenix rolled his eyes again, and walked the last few metres to the stationary shop. He wandered inside and picked up a large blue basket from the stack at his right, wondering idly how full it was going to be after he had got everything on the list.

"Okay, so, whiteboard markers first." Phoenix muttered to himself, making his way over to the appropriate isle.

When he had reached his destination, he suddenly remembered why he hated shopping. There were at least seven different types of whiteboard markers - ranging from the ever-popular rainbow-coloured markers, to long-lasting markers, and, finally, to quick-dry markers.

"Why can't I simply buy a pack of whiteboard markers? They really shouldn't give me this much choice. It's too confusing." Phoenix murmured to himself, stretching up on his toes to reach a pack of rainbow-coloured pens.

_For Maya's sake, of course._

"Okay. One down, eleven to go."

Phoenix cruised through the next few isles, thankful that there wasn't such a diverse range of printer paper.

_Maybe this 'shopping' business isn't too bad. Right, what's next on this list? …Ink cartridges? They're so expensive. Maybe Maya and I should stop printing pictures of kittens off the Internet?_

With a yawn, Phoenix headed off towards the ink cartridges, and then proceeded to pick up everything on the list.

_Well, that was exciting._

Phoenix headed towards to counter and tried desperately to ignore the fact that his basket was almost busting.

"This is going to cost so much…" Phoenix muttered to himself, wincing as the woman behind the counter started scanning his purchases.

_Is it too late to ditch all of my stuff and leave with just the printer paper?_

"That'll be sixty six dollars, thank you." the woman said, giving Phoenix a wide grin.

"Okay, thank you." Phoenix said, handing his credit card to her. He watched as she swiped the card, and then felt a sudden rush of dizziness at the amount of money being withdrawn from his account.

_Oh, God. I'm not going to be able to eat for a month! I hope Maya appreciates this…_

Phoenix grabbed his bags, thanked the over-enthusiastic woman behind the counter, and hurried out onto the street; bags in hand. He looked around for somewhere to sit - all that walking had tired his legs out.

After spotting a moderately clean bench, Phoenix wandered over and sat down. As not to appear like he had no friends, he pulled his phone out and pretended to be deeply involved in a text conversation.

_Hm, now that I've got my phone out, I may as well call Edgeworth. Perhaps it was too ambitious of me to think that _he_ would actually call _me_._

Phoenix searched through his contacts list until he located Edgeworth's name, and then dialled before he could change his mind.

Miles picked up on the third ring.

"Miles Edgeworth speaking." he answered, his voice as bored and monotonous as always.

"Hey, Edgeworth! It's me. Uh, I mean, it's Phoenix. Phoenix Wright."

_Classy, Phoenix. How many other people named 'Phoenix' would he know? God, stop being so flustered and awkward._

"Of course it's you, Wright. You're the only person I know incapable of speaking properly."

"Gee, thanks, Edgeworth. I was just calling because… well, yeah. About the meeting that we're supposed to be going on. Dinner date and all that." Phoenix rolled his eyes inwardly, and could almost _see _the inevitable look of '_you shouldn't be allowed to speak without cue cards' _on the prosecutor's face.

"Wright, we met _yesterday. _I hardly want to be meeting you every day. I don't know whether I mentioned it or not, but I do this thing that keeps me busy all day. It's called 'work'. Perhaps you should try it." Miles said.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Edgeworth." Phoenix commented, idly picking at the knee of his jeans.

"Look, Wright, in all seriousness, I'm busy. Was there any particular reason why you called, other than the fact that you want to drag me out under the pretence of 'teaching me about love'?"

Phoenix was silent.

_He sounds like he's in a bit of a mood._

"Uh… Oh, I forgot to ask! How are you?" Phoenix edged around the question carefully, as he didn't really have a reason to be calling Edgeworth; especially if Edgeworth had decided that being _friends _was too much of an effort.

"Wright. I'm not an idiot, despite what you may think. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from sticking your nose where it doesn't belong - namely, my personal life."

"What are you talking about?" Phoenix asked, cautiously glancing up at the sky. It was making thundering noises, and he didn't want to be caught out in the rain.

"Stop trying to distract me. I'll hang up." Miles threatened.

Phoenix was just about to make a snarky comment, when he heard a muffled scream of 'Get off me!' that didn't sound too far away.

_What was that?_

He got up off the bench, and wandered over to where the noise seemed to be coming from. He snuck into a side road - a strangely dark place which held a certain kind of creepiness typical of a horror movie.

He heard another noise, though, this time, it was much closer. It sounded like someone was crying; muffled noises of hurt and fear were echoing in the small street.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Phoenix called out nervously, wishing that he some sort of weapon to protect himself with. Who knew what type of people lurked in the shadows?

"Wright? Are you still there? I've got work to do. Stop fooling around." Miles' loud voice rang out over the phone's speakers.

"Ssh, Edgeworth." Phoenix hissed into the phone, moving his thumb to cover the speaker - cutting off Miles' inevitable demands of 'What have you done now?'.

He crept closer to where a large skip bin sat gathering dust in the middle of the pavement, his heart beating furiously in his chest. It seemed strange that someone would carry out such a heinous act in broad daylight, but Phoenix had seen enough scum in Court to justify his thoughts.

Finally, Phoenix felt the harsh, rusting metal of the skip bin beneath his fingertips, indicating that his infinitesimal steps had actually been moving his body forwards.

_Here goes nothing._

He jumped out in front of the bin with a startled cry - half expecting to see a dying individual and a murderer poised for action. However, his eyes focused on the young girl at his feet - very much alive. She had a large purple bruise across her left cheekbone and a large gash across her forehead.

She was a teenager, Phoenix guessed. A pretty girl. Long blonde hair was swept up in a ponytail, dark lash-framed blue eyes filled with tears.

Phoenix bent down.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." he murmured, trying his best to be comforting. He'd never been particularly good at reassuring others, but he rather thought that his effort was really all that mattered. "You're going to be fine. I'll get you out of here."

_No time to worry about what happened to her - she probably needs to go to the hospital to have something done to her forehead._

The girl merely squeaked in response, bringing her hands to cover her mouth. Phoenix noticed the look of absolute terror on her face, and wondered why she presumed he was threatening.

"No, don't be afraid." Phoenix tried to smile at the girl; his special heart melting grin that he reserved for special people. "I'm here to help."

But then he heard a cry, felt something connect with the back of his head, and then…

Nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Sorry, guys, that this update was a day late! We lost internet connection over Christmas... -_- Okay, so the next chapter (chapter six) is a chapter that you guys haven't read before, as well as chapter seven. EXCITEMENT. (:

Anyways, thanks for all of your support! Your reviews were awesome, guys. (I feel so loved!) (: And a special thanks to Wiiola, who kindly pointed out a typo for me. (:

So, please continue to review, and I'll try and post the next chapter next week~

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Five._

"Wright? Wright?! Can you hear me? What's happening?" Miles' frantic voice raised a few notches. "Phoenix? Can you hear me?"

_Oh, for God's sake. What's he gone and done now?_

All he had heard since Phoenix had 'shushed' him was a few muffled words, a _thunk_, and then the sound of Phoenix's phone being dropped onto the concrete.

He didn't know what had happened, but it seemed as though Phoenix was a danger magnet. Miles had to admit - he could feel his heart pounding furiously in his chest.

"Phoenix, are you all right? Can you hear me?" Miles tried again, but the lack of response from Phoenix's end of the phone was unnervingly chilling.

_I'm going to have to go and find him. Where could he be? I have no idea. In his office? Unlikely. Who would want to break in there? There's nothing of value in the old office. Oh Christ, I'll never be able to locate the idiot! Okay, stay calm, Miles. _

_He must be in town. Where else could he be? All right. I'll just have to go and look for him._

With a few rustles of his half-finished papers, and a swish of his coat, Miles was out of the door.

_This man will be the death of me._

* * *

After half an hour of frantic searching, Miles managed to locate the defence attorney in one of the town's many side roads. He was lying, propped up against a brick wall, his head in his hands.

"Wright!" Miles sighed a heavy sigh of a relief, coming to a stop in front of his friend. "What on earth happened to you?"

Phoenix looked upwards and grinned his heart warming smile. "Hey, Edgeworth!" he said happily. "I was waiting for you to turn up."

Miles rolled his eyes and crouched down in front of him. "You could have given me a few clues, Wright. I was worried sick."

Phoenix grinned again, yet Miles noticed that his eyes were unfocused.

"Phoenix, are you all right?" Miles asked anxiously, suddenly becoming aware of the bloody patch at the back of his friend's head.

"I'm fine, Edgeworth! You're a bit blurry, though. Why are you doing that?" Phoenix chuckled to himself, and made a move to get up.

"No, stay sitting against the wall. Can you bend your head for me?"

Phoenix snorted in amusement. "That's being a bit forward, isn't it?"

Miles ignored Phoenix's - frankly mortifying - comment, and pushed Phoenix's head downwards. There was a mottled black-and-blue lump on the back of his head, and a _lot _of blood.

"Phoenix, listen to me, all right? I think you've got a concussion. We need to get you to the hospital. Will you try to stand up for me?"

Phoenix murmured in agreement, and, with Miles' help, managed to stagger into a standing position.

"My car is just around the corner." Miles assured Phoenix, his grip on his friend's waist tight.

_Only you, Wright, could get concussion when out in town._

"Wait, no, my shopping." Phoenix suddenly said, raising his head. "We can't leave without my stationary!"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Where did you leave it? Surely it's not of great importance."

Phoenix made a noise that sounded like a snort of amusement, and Miles headed off towards where he was gesturing weakly.

"So," Miles started as the two hobbled over to where Miles could see a few plastic bags lying on the ground next to a bench, "What on earth happened to you?"

Phoenix made a face as he struggled to remember. "Uh, I was attacked, I guess. There was… a young girl. Yeah, that's right. She screamed, and I went to see if she was okay. Then everything went black."

Miles pondered this for a second. "But neither the girl, nor the assailant, was there when I found you."

"She probably escaped, and I guess the attacker freaked out at what he had done." Phoenix gave an awkward shrug. "I could have been dead for all he knew."

"Well, thankfully, you're not." Miles murmured, finally reaching the shopping bags. "Are these yours?"

Phoenix nodded, and bent down to pick them up, before swaying dangerously.

Miles tightened his grip on Phoenix's waist.

"I've got it."

* * *

Once the two had conquered the difficulties of getting into Miles' shiny red car, Miles huffed a sigh of relief.

_That was a lot of effort. Though I'm glad I turned up when I did. Heaven knows what Wright would have done had I not been on the phone to him._

"What happened to your phone?" Miles asked as he pulled out of the parking space.

"Uh, I don't know where it is. When I regained consciousness, I tried to find it to call help, but I couldn't see it anywhere."

Miles was silent.

"I can buy a cheap one somewhere, though. Some man at a phone shop owes me a favour, anyway." Phoenix continued, though it seemed as though he was talking to himself. "I defended him one time, and he didn't pay me. Unsurprisingly."

Miles merely nodded in reply - too busy focusing his attention on weaving around the cars lingering in the streets.

"I think I'll only need to go to the accident division." Phoenix commented. "Surely they'll only need to patch me up and give me painkillers?"

"Presumably, yes. Though you will almost certainly have to stay the night in nurses' care, so you may be transferred the hospital." Miles commented indifferently.

"What? Why?" Phoenix seemed put out at thought of having to stay in the hospital. "I've only got a concussion!"

"Yes, but they'll want to keep an eye on you. Make sure that you don't drift into unconsciousness. After all, you do live by yourself. You'd have no one to check on you during the night."

"What, in case I fall into a coma?" Phoenix laughed to himself, before breaking off to nurse his head.

"Concussions are serious, Wright. If you went to sleep by yourself and didn't have anyone check on you, you _could _fall into a coma, and, despite your comedic attitude towards the situation, such an easily-avoided consequence would be a very bad thing indeed."

Phoenix was silent.

"I hate hospitals," he suddenly murmured. "I've hated them ever since I was a kid."

Miles resisted from asking why. "Well, there's no other way around it, unless you can get Ms Fey to stay the night with you."

"She's in Kurain," Phoenix grumbled, "so she won't be any help." Suddenly his face brightened, and Miles felt his heart sinking at the look on his face. "Hey, I know! You could stay over!"

"Absolutely not, Wright. I am not going to baby sit you because you have an irrational fear of the hospital." Miles answered firmly.

Phoenix huffed. "Please, Edgeworth? It'd be like a sleepover! And, besides, who better to ask than you? Even if Maya _was _here, she'd forget to wake me. And I'm just so sore. My head… Ow…"

Miles rolled his eyes, but could already feel his resolve fading. "I don't know, Wright… I've got a lot of work to catch up on. Not only did I waste a day with you yesterday, but, because of your 'accident', I've wasted another few hours. I've got five reports to write up, a trial next Thursday, and a meeting on Saturday."

But that was a lie. Sure, he was busy - wasn't he always? Using his work as an excuse to get out of things had become second nature to Miles; an ingenious way to stop his mind from asking _what are you afraid of? _Perhaps Phoenix trusted him, and perhaps Miles trusted Phoenix a little bit too, but the thought of staying at his friend's house with him seemed strangely intimate - a feeling Miles was uncomfortable with.

He'd never been much of a social butterfly - even in his teenage years where he had been equally popular with the males and females of his prodigious high school. He'd had the chance to stay out all night, the chance to make a mistake that he'd live to regret - he'd had the chance to be everything the average teenager was. He'd had the chance to be _normal._

Yet he hadn't taken what the world had offered, and had, instead, strived to become the prosecutor he was today. If he reflected back on his life and thought - _was it all worth it? - _he wasn't sure he could answer honestly. He loved his job, of course he did, but was it worth all of the awkwardness and distress that seemed to be such a prominent part of his life?

He wasn't too sure sometimes, and his doubt in everything he had worked for made him uncomfortable.

"…Please, Edgeworth?" Phoenix's gentle, pleading voice brought Edgeworth from his daydream. He sounded broken - wounded and pained, miserable and fearful.

_Wright… Please don't make me do this. Please don't force me out of my socially insecure shell._

_Oh, grow up, Miles. What's the worst that could happen? Perhaps staying the night with Wright wouldn't be too horrible. And, despite appearances, I wouldn't want him to fall into a coma._

Miles found himself sighing. "Okay, fine. I'll stay the night with you, Wright, but _only _because it would be inconvenient for me if you were to die."

Phoenix grinned beside him, and, after uttering a truly heartfelt, "thank you", drifted into silence.

Miles, too, drove in silence, wondering if he had made the correct decision. Perhaps, despite his social insecurities, staying the night wouldn't be as horrific as he was expecting. He had known Phoenix for a long time, and, if he couldn't trust Phoenix, then who could he trust?

A glance over at a tired, bloody, bruised Phoenix made Miles smile slightly. The defence attorney hadn't even mentioned that fact that he was injured because he'd done something brave. He wasn't bragging about how his actions had, presumably, stopped a young woman from being demoralized in the worst possible way.

No, Phoenix wasn't one to speak about everything wonderful he had done.

"Wright, don't go to sleep on me." Miles warned as he watched Phoenix's head loll precariously.

Phoenix's eyes fluttered open, and he gave Edgeworth a weak smile. "Sorry. I'm just so tired and so sore."

_I know you are, Phoenix._

…

_When did I start calling him 'Phoenix' in my head? For all this day's troubles, I do _not _want thinking fondly of Wright to be one of them. I am _not _becoming affectionate towards that idiot._

"I'm sure you are. We're almost at the accident division, so just hold on tight."

Really, Miles was lucky that they hadn't passed a stray traffic cop. At the speed he as going, he was sure to get enough speeding tickets to last him a lifetime.

"How much does it hurt?" Miles asked, wondering if Phoenix was putting on a brave face.

"A lot. My ears are ringing loudly and the pounding in my head feels as though it's going to make my brain explode. Bit unpleasant. But I'll be fine - always am."

Miles glanced towards his friend again, and noted that he was bleeding on the white leather seat.

"I hope you'll be paying me for the damage you're causing my car." Miles commented casually.

"What? Where?" Phoenix looked slightly flabbergasted. "What am I doing?"

"Oh, just bleeding out onto my clean white upholstery." Miles said, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Phoenix hastily apologised, not noticing the hint of laughter in Miles' words. "I'll pay you to get it cleaned, of course!"

"It was a joke, Wright. I was joking." Miles sighed, and wondered why he bothered. "To say that you're constantly telling me to take a joke, you really need to take your own advice."

Phoenix sighed, and it was a distinctly defeated noise. "You got me."

* * *

The two men walked through the doors of the accident and emergency part of the hospital. Thankfully, Phoenix had been able to hold most of his weight, though the arm that Miles had wrapped loosely around his waist felt entirely alien.

"I hate the smell of hospitals." Phoenix grumbled to himself. "They're so… sterile and white. I don't like it."

"Oh, pity." Miles tutted. "Should we leave?"

Phoenix chuckled under his breath, and allowed himself to be plonked down on a chair while Miles went to tell the woman in the reception about his wounds.

_Why is he constantly in a good mood? It infuriates me. Just once, I'd like to see him genuinely upset about something._

Ignoring the little voice in his head that told him he was being a bit harsh, Miles went and sat down on the hard plastic chair next to Phoenix.

"You'll be tended to as soon as possible." he assured an ashen Phoenix.

"Good. Hey, let's talk about something that isn't my injuries. You know, to distract me."

Miles sighed, and wondered why Phoenix wasn't content with peace and quiet. "All right. You said, when you called, that you wanted us to have another meeting?" he enquired.

"Oh, yeah! I thought we should meet again, though I'll bring a proper agenda this time." Phoenix grinned to himself, as though he thought that being organised was something he should be proud of, and not something that should just _happen._

"Oh, will you now." Miles muttered. It wasn't a question, as such, but more of a disbelieving statement. "Are you sure that these meetings are actually going to help? I can't help but to notice the lack of anything important I learnt yesterday."

"Well, it'll take time, won't it?" Phoenix pointed out, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "And besides. It was fun yesterday, right?"

Miles was silent.

"Okay, maybe not." Phoenix frowned to himself. "Well, I guess there's no point in dragging you out if you're unwilling to cooperate."

_If I don't say anything now, then I won't have to be dragged out again tomorrow. All pros. I'll be able to catch up on all my work without suffering the humiliation that Wright's company brings. Though… He seems slightly hurt that I didn't enjoy yesterday's meeting._

_Because I did enjoy it, in a way. Spending time with Wright isn't too bad. _

"No, no, I'll allow you to take me out somewhere." Miles sighed in defeat. "What did you have in mind?"

Phoenix perked up again, and treated Miles to his special grin. "Great. Well, I was thinking: dinner? If you know anywhere good, that is."

"There's a nice place to eat in the middle of town. It's called 'The Ricksha'." Miles commented.

"Sounds posh. Is it expensive?"

Miles allowed himself a rare smile. "Not so much on a prosecutor's wage. Though it won't affect you, as I suppose I'll be paying again?"

"Ah, if you don't mind." Phoenix grinned sheepishly, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. "A defence attorney isn't quite the high paying career I thought it would be."

"Ever thought of pursuing a different career, then?" Miles asked, slightly smug because his yearly wage was a six figure number.

"Nah. Though I may not get paid, I wouldn't change my job for the world. I don't know. There's just something _awesome _about saving innocent people from being punished for something they didn't do."

Miles made a vague noise of understanding.

_Whereas I think there is something 'awesome' about punishing a criminal for the foul deeds he committed - something wonderful in ensuring that he gets what he deserves; ultimately, death. _

_I hope that doesn't make me too bad a person._

"Okay, so tomorrow, then?" Phoenix asked, hope written in the eager lines of his face.

"Well, it depends on how much pain you're in tomorrow, doesn't it?" Miles replied curtly.

"Ah, I'll be fine." Phoenix grinned to his friend. "And, if you're taking tomorrow off to look after me, then we may as well go out for dinner, right?"

"I don't remember ever agreeing to stay with you tomorrow." Miles pointed out, his eyebrows furrowing. "It's tonight only, as I recall. I don't have time to waste."

Phoenix's grin faltered slightly. "Yeah, I know. I've heard it all before."

Such a simple comment made Miles pause.

_Do I really go on and on about how much work I have to do - so much so that I give him the impression that working is all I care about? _

_I suppose I do. _

_Though, if I had to take a step back and look at the world I've created for myself, would my work be the only thing I honestly, truly care for?_

Miles was just about to say something to adjust Phoenix's opinion of everything that he could possibly care for, when said man interrupted with a startled noise.

"What is it?" Miles said, glancing upwards from where his gaze had been fixed on the scruffy white floor that really needed a good polish.

"I just remembered something!" Phoenix said, smiling happily to himself. "Before I called you, you called me. But then you hung up before I had a chance to answer. Why?"

_Damn. I had hoped that he had forgotten about that, especially with that concussion of his. Trust him to remember the most incriminating of things._

"Oh. That. Well, I was calling Detective Gumshoe about some evidence I needed, and his speed dial on my phone is the number below yours. I fumbled, and ended up accidentally calling you instead." Miles lied smoothly.

_I can't exactly tell him that I had an uncanny desire to hear his voice, can I? He would think that I was strange. _

_Now that I think about it, though, why _did _I want to hear his voice so badly? Such a longing is uncharacteristic of me._

_Hmph. You're thinking into things too much, Miles. I probably just wanted to thank him again for giving up his - admittedly lax - day to 'help me out'. Though, that _does _seem like a relatively weak motive. Did I, perhaps, simply want to hear his voice? His comforting, warm voice…?_

_Nngh… Why am I even having this conversation with myself?_

Miles glanced upwards at his friend, who was waving an anxious hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Edgeworth? Did you hear anything I said?" he questioned, raising a tired eyebrow.

"Er, no. Forgive me. I was thinking."

"You think into things too much, Edgeworth." Phoenix voiced Miles' earlier thoughts, and continued his previous attempts at a conversation. "I was just commenting on the fact that I am _privileged _enough to have a speed dial on your phone. Reserved for special people only, right?"

"Not necessarily." Miles huffed, subtly glancing up at the clock on the wall. They had already been waiting for ten minutes, and, although Miles did have to admit that Phoenix had certainly perked up, ten minutes could have been life-threatening in another situation.

"But I must be special. Because then you wouldn't have given me - me, a low life defence attorney - a speed dial." Phoenix smiled again.

"I have many contacts on my speed dial." Miles hedged around the accusation, not liking where the conversation was going. Emotional depth had never really been his thing.

"Oh." Phoenix looked put out for a second, before his face brightened. "Which number am I?"

_Damn it! He's number one. Should I tell him the truth? Perhaps I could lie and say I haven't memorised it. He'll probably read too much into the situation, and think that I'm… _affectionate _towards him, which I certainly am not. _

_Ah, but what _does_ it mean - having the man I thought I didn't wish to talk to on top of my list of priorities?_

_Nothing! It means nothing! He was on my speed dial a long time before all of this nonsense about love and my-true-feelings started. …Though, technically, that could make this situation worse - it could be read as though I've had a deeper emotional connection to him than anyone else I've ever met, which is strange because we've not been friends since fourth grade._

_Christ, I'm doing it again. These inner debates inside my head. They really need to stop. It all started with yesterday's lunch date. Lunch _meeting. _Meeting. _Meeting_. Perhaps I really am ill. I don't suppose he's given yesterday a second thought. I don't suppose he's given _me _a second thought._

…

_Argh, Wright, why must you persist with this line of questioning? _

"Edgeworth? Are you all right?" Phoenix questioned again, forehead creasing in worry. "You seem a bit out of it."

"I'm fine." Miles snapped, closing his eyes briefly.

"Okay, if you say so." Phoenix shrugged his shoulders, and gently patted that back of his head. "I think the blood's drying."

"Fascinating." Miles grumbled underneath his breath, strangely infuriated at the man in front of him for making him doubt things about himself. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, and prayed to God that the idiot would take it as sign to stop trying to make conversation.

"My headache's not as bad, either. Maybe I don't actually have concussion. I feel fine."

Miles chose to ignore Phoenix's idle banter, and, instead, focused on the interesting piece of fabric at his knee.

_Why does it feel as though everything is changing?_

The two sat in an awkward silence for another few minutes, and Miles couldn't help but notice a fidgeting Phoenix out of the corner of his eye.

"Have I done something to offend you, Edgeworth?" Phoenix asked suddenly, his warm chocolate eyes large and uncertain. "Because if I've said something, then I probably didn't mean it, and-"

"No, Wright." Miles sighed, and wondered why he always had such a negative effect on people. "I'm not annoyed at you." _Not really. _"I'm merely… tired."

Because that was sort-of the answer.

"Oh." Phoenix opened his mouth to say something else, but the warm tones of the doctor calling "Phoenix Wright" made them both stop.

"Ah, that'll be me then." Phoenix grinned, standing up. He wobbled slightly, but managed to steady himself. "Coming?"

Miles hesitated slightly. "What, into the doctor's room?"

"Well, yeah." Phoenix's eyebrows furrowed. "I need you. For moral support, of course."

Miles stood up and followed Phoenix and the doctor into a large, white room.

_What was my chest doing when Wright said 'I need you'? It went… well. Bizarre. Perhaps it was a panic attack at the thought of being 'needed'?_

_No… Ah, it was probably just pity on his part._

Before Miles' mind could lose itself in the hideous part of his brain labelled 'emotional uncertainty', the doctor ordered Phoenix to sit.

_I suppose I had better pay attention - Wright definitely won't. And since I'm supposed to be looking after him tonight… _

_The next few hours are going to be such a hassle._

"Okay, how can I help you?" the doctor asked, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a gentle smile.

"I think I've got a concussion." Phoenix told her, turning around in his chair to show her the back of his head.

"Ah." The doctor moved forwards and reached out to touch the bloody lump. "And how did this happen?"

"I don't really remember, but I was hit over the head. Hard."

"With what?" she asked, her prodding increasing in its intensity.

"No idea." Phoenix hissed under his breath as the doctor continued her - obviously painful - examination. "Metal, maybe? It hurts. A lot."

The doctor hummed to herself, sat back down in her chair at her desk, and regarded Miles with careful eyes.

"And who are you?" she asked curiously.

"I'm Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix's, er, friend." Miles didn't really see why introducing himself was necessary.

"And your role in this is…?"

"Er, I managed to find Wri-er, _Phoenix _after he had been hit on the head. He was on the phone to me, and I heard the attack."

"And how was he when you found him?" the doctor questioned, thin fingers poised over the slim black keyboard of her computer.

Miles noted that Phoenix was looking slightly bemused at the interrogation.

"His eyes were unfocused and he seemed slightly delirious. He didn't seem to be in too much pain, and was rather chatty. In the car on the way here, he quickly became tired, though he didn't seem to understand the severity of situation." Miles informed the doctor, watching as she typed furiously. "Though that could just be him."

"Okay, right. We'll just need to do some tests, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

After testing Phoenix's pupil response and balance, and tending to the large gash on the back of his head, the doctor sat back in her chair.

"I'm going to give you some strong painkillers. Take two every four hours with food. Now, are you going to have someone staying with you tonight? We can't have you going to sleep for eight hours straight without someone waking you up." The doctor told Phoenix.

"Uh, yeah, Miles is staying over." Phoenix shot Miles a grateful glance.

_Hmph._

The doctor nodded her head slightly. "Right. You seem intelligent, Mr. Edgeworth. Make sure to wake him up every few hours and ask him questions. He should be fine, but if he either can't remember simple questions, or doesn't wake up at all, you need to call an ambulance. Make sure that you're near him at all times, just in case."

"Of course." Miles nodded his head.

"You're going to need to rest for twenty four hours or longer, Mr Wright. Do not attempt to play any sports or do anything physical. You will be able to resume these normal activities after your symptoms disappear."

"Ah, all right." Phoenix stood up, and shook the doctor's hand. "Thanks."

Miles stood up too. "Thank you."

Despite his - really quite severe - concussion, Phoenix bounded over to the door, opened it, and left with his usual enthusiasm.

The doctor smiled after him. "Look after him, Mr. Edgeworth. I think he looks like he could do with someone sensible in his life."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Heya, guys! (: Thanks so very much for the reviews to the last chapter - you guys are so supportive and kind. So, just for you, here's a chapter that wasn't in the original! So much fluff...

Please continue to support me, as it does actually make me write faster - knowing that there are people who care. I do love your opinions!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Six._

Miles smirked smugly to himself as he opened the door to his apartment. On the way back from the accident and emergency division, he had had a brilliant idea.

The problem had been staying the night at Phoenix's. So, why not simply eliminate the problem? Sure, Phoenix hadn't been too pleased at the fact that Miles had, essentially, bullied him into staying at his house, but it made Miles a lot more comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

He had argued that, if he was going to be forced to waste another day of work - yes, he really did use his work as an excuse too often - then the least Phoenix could do was to stay where Miles wanted.

The two had stopped off at Phoenix's apartment to pick up necessary items - clothing and a toothbrush - and even Phoenix was forced to admit that staying in Miles' flash apartment was for the best. His small flat had been horrendously messy, and, idly, Miles wondered why.

"Wow, your apartment is so huge!" Phoenix exclaimed, walking into the large room and spreading his arms out. "It must have been expensive."

"It was." Gingerly, Miles placed Phoenix's small suitcase on the floor beside the coffee table.

"Certainly makes a change from my cramped old flat." Phoenix mused, flopping down onto the large white leather sofa in the corner of the room.

_Make yourself at home, why don't you?_

"Well. We've had this discussion about your lack of pay, haven't we?" Miles frowned, chiding himself for feeling so awkward in his own home. He was standing in the middle of the room uncomfortably, fingers fidgeting slightly as he wondered what he was going to do with the man on his sofa.

"Yeah. Good thing I'm not a detective. You'd have my salary way down there." Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Though I'm not sure it's possible to earn less than me."

"Detective Gumshoe certainly manages it." Miles commented absentmindedly, sweeping past Phoenix and into the kitchen. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"What are you having?" Phoenix forced himself into an upright position, and peered round into the kitchen.

"Tea."

"Ah, I'll just have water, thanks."

Miles rolled his eyes to himself slightly as Phoenix spread himself across the sofa once more.

_This is going to be a long twenty four hours, Miles, unless you stop being so awkward._

"Uh…" Miles cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say that would break the discomfiting silence threatening to overpower him. Usually Miles was fond of silence, but not like this. Not with Phoenix. "Why was your flat so untidy? There was popcorn all over the floor."

Phoenix grinned to himself. "Ah, it was nothing, really. You see, Maya was staying over last night-"

"Was she now?" Miles interrupted disapprovingly, raising an eyebrow even though he knew Phoenix wouldn't be able to see the unimpressed look on his face.

_Are they-? I hadn't realised. For some reason, I always presumed that Wright was single. Didn't he state yesterday that he wasn't in a relationship? Moreover, we discussed his relationship with Ms Fey. He said he wasn't attracted to her and that they weren't 'together'._

_I wonder why he didn't tell me the truth yesterday then? Though it's a bit… disappointing, this revelation, I must confess._

_No, it's not. Why would it be disappointing? It's not like you were expecting him to-_

_Let's not go there._

Phoenix flushed a dark crimson. "Oh, no, it was nothing like that! No, no, she was just staying over because she had to go back to Kurain today, and it's just something we do. I always miss her, so it's a nice way to say goodbye. We're not… _together_. Remember, we talked about this yesterday!"

"It's fine, Wright. I don't care either way." Miles said, unnecessarily cool.

_So, Ms Fey has gone back to her village. Is that why he's being so friendly towards me now? Is it because he's got no one else to talk to? Am I merely his second choice?_

Dismissing his thoughts, Miles strode back into the living room with a cup of tea in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He passed the glass to a horizontal Phoenix with a comment of, "You're going to spill it everywhere."

Phoenix chuckled again, and sat up. "Yeah. Come sit, Edgeworth." He patted the cushion on his right as though it was his own sofa.

Miles sighed and sat down awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next. Was he going to be forced to make idle banter with Wright for the next twelve hours? He'd have to make sure the defence attorney went to bed early.

"What's the time?" Phoenix enquired, patting around on his person before sighing and saying, "no phone," by way of explanation.

Miles pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, and peered at the screen. "It's two thirty."

_Two thirty… We've still got hours._

"Okay." Phoenix nodded his head, and took a sip of the water. "What do you think we should do to pass time?"

Miles frowned. "It depends on a great number of things."

Phoenix looked blank. "Like what?"

"Like what time you usually go to bed, or how hungry you are now, or how tired you are, or-"

"Okay, okay. In answer to your questions, I usually go to bed at eleven-"

_Christ, eleven? I'll have eight and a half more hours with him._

"I'm starving, and I'm only kind-of tired." Phoenix finished.

"Well, perhaps you should go to bed early tonight to, er, give your concussion the best chance at recovering." Miles hinted. "Would you like some food now?"

Phoenix grinned at him. "What do you have?"

* * *

A bag of crisps, two chocolate chip muffins and a bowl of ice cream later, Phoenix was still a little bit hungry and it was only three o'clock.

"You're going to eat all of the food in this house." Miles grumbled as he searched his kitchen cupboards for the requested honey.

"We'll have to order dinner then, won't we?" Phoenix commented from where he was stationed in front of the toaster. He was keeping a keen eye on the bread in said toaster - making sure that it was _just _the right level of brown-ness was a very intense task.

"Are you going to _want_ dinner?" Miles asked incredulously, handing Phoenix the honey he hadn't realised he had. "Surely you won't be able to fit it all in your stomach."

Phoenix shot him an equally incredulous look. "Uh, of course I will."

Miles sighed. "Do you always eat this much?"

"If I have the money, yes." Phoenix grinned, and then hurriedly hit the button on the toaster that made the toast pop up early. "Look, isn't that just the best toast you've ever seen? It's a delicious golden brown, soon to be slathered in butter and honey." He hummed happily to himself.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you should give up your work as a lawyer and start working for an advertising company."

Phoenix chuckled. "But then I wouldn't have a reason to see you anymore, because you'd think of some excuse to avoid me."

Miles folded his arms across his chest self-consciously, even though he knew that Phoenix was only teasing him. "I would see you willingly if you were an important part of my life - someone I genuinely wanted to share things with."

Phoenix glanced up from his toast, his dark eyes confused. "What does that mean, Edgeworth?"

"Nothing. It means nothing." Miles murmured, wondering why he had ever opened his mouth.

_How is he going to take that? As me telling him that he's not important to me now because I don't feel comfortable enough to share things with him? Or as me telling him that I _want_ him to be important in my life - a simple and clear cut 'I want to trust you'?_

Surprisingly enough, Phoenix didn't push the subject, and continued buttering his toast in silence.

_Oh, Jesus, I haven't offended him now, have I? This had better not start an argument._

"Wright, I-" Miles started, wanting to explain himself before Phoenix got the wrong idea. Though, in all honesty, even _Miles_ didn't know what the wrong idea was.

_If I was given two options - the first being to have Wright stay away from me forever so that I could get on with my life without the cloud of confusion and emotional muddle that he brings with him, and the second being having to see him and his charming smile every day of every week without fail, which would I choose?_

"Look, I was just trying to say-"

Phoenix turned to him again, his clear eyes unreadable. "Don't bother explaining yourself, Edgeworth. I'm not going to stop doing lawyer work, so I don't think it matters, do you?"

He sounded slightly petulant, so Miles kept his mouth shut for fear of making the situation worse in the way he normally did.

"No, I suppose not."

"Good."

Miles continued watching Phoenix as the man ate his toast, his dark brown eyes averted.

"So." Miles attempted to start up another conversation; anything to turn the tension in the air from hideously uncomfortable to something slightly more bearable.

"Well, my toast is finished." Phoenix suddenly announced, glancing up and smiling at Miles with his stupidly adorable face. "Where am I going to sleep? We should sort all that stuff out."

Miles breathed an inward sigh of relief at Phoenix's happy attitude.

_He doesn't like to stay upset for long, does he? He's never one to hold a grudge._

"Well, I have only one bed, and I didn't have time to sort something else out." Miles started, his brain wondering how everything was going to work out. "So you'll have to sleep on the leather sofa."

Phoenix was quiet for a second. "Or, I could sleep in your bed-"

Miles flushed a deep crimson, and hastily interrupted Phoenix's suggestion. "Uh, I don't really think that's appropriate, Wright. I mean, I understand that I've known you for a long time, but-"

"-And you could sleep on the couch." Phoenix finished, raising an amused eyebrow. "Why, were you hoping that I meant sharing a bed?"

"Uh, no, no. You're quite right. Separate sleeping areas, definitely." Miles ran a hand through his hair, flustered. He cleared his throat subtly, and ignored the positively delighted look on Phoenix's face.

_Is my embarrassment really so entertaining?_

"Though, I don't know why you think you should be the one with the bed. You're the guest here." Miles raised an arrogant eyebrow, and followed Phoenix into the living room. "You're the one eating all of my food."

"I'm the one with a severe concussion!" Phoenix protested, moving to clutch weakly at the back of his head.

Miles sighed to himself; defeat evident. "Fine, fine; you can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the sofa."

Suddenly, Miles was hit with an unexpected image of his friend. An image where Phoenix was in his bed, sprawled out sleepily across miles of crisp cotton sheets, his strangely fascinating dark hair damp from the shower he would presumably have. His tanned, naked skin was vaguely veiled by a thin sheet; always tempting, but completely untouchable.

In this unanticipated daydream, Phoenix's eyes were half-lidded and dark; watching Miles' every move. He was stretched out across the bed like a sick sort of offering - seductive and unbelievably sexy; his impossibly long limbs entwined around a thin magenta blanket. His pale pink lips were parted around husky whispers of "Miles, Miles, Miles…", and the image sent chills down Miles' spine.

Even in reality, Miles had to admit that it was certainly a breathtaking image.

_Where… did that image come from? Why was my mind envisaging something like that? Wright, stretched out naked across my bed…? I couldn't possibly picture something worse… could I?_

_Why am I even thinking about this horrible scenario? It's not like I've ever given anything like this any thought. And I definitely don't need to, because I don't feel anything stronger than friendship for Wright, and I doubt I ever will. _

…_You wouldn't be having this conversation with yourself if everything was as it used to be. Something has changed, but you're too stubborn and too scared to admit it to yourself._

_Oh, shut up, Miles. This isn't important at the moment. What's important is making sure that Wright's concussion doesn't get the better of him._

Though, despite Miles' stern dismissal of the situation, he couldn't stop the strange tremor that ran through his body at the thought of his closest friend lying, naked, in his bed.

_Stop it, Miles. This isn't something you want to think about._

"Edgeworth? Edgeworth?" Phoenix's sing-song voice made Miles' head snap upwards. "You're really distracted today. Are you sure you're okay?"

Miles huffed a sigh, and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine, Wright. I've just… got a lot going on at the moment."

Phoenix's gaze softened, and his lips turned upwards in a sad smile. "Stressed about Kay's party?"

Miles paused for a second. He hadn't really given Kay's birthday party too much thought, and had, instead, been concerned with the ordeal of finding a partner. No, the actual party wasn't something Miles was particularly bothered about, but more the emotional discomfit that it was making him endure.

"It's such a waste of time." Miles muttered by way of explanation. "I'm tempted just to forget about finding a partner and take you up on your offer."

Phoenix looked momentarily confused. "What offer?"

It seemed as though Phoenix didn't remember his offer to allow Miles to take him as a partner instead of some random, anonymous woman. The thought that Miles had specifically remembered the offer whilst Phoenix had not made Miles flush.

"It's, uh, nothing. Nothing to worry about."

* * *

"Do you think you'll need anything else?" Miles asked, watching as Phoenix made himself comfortable in his bed. "More water or extra painkillers?"

It was ten o'clock at night, and, after a long day of talking about nothing in particular, eating delicious Chinese food and watching - frankly horrifying - films on the television, Miles had managed to convince Phoenix that he needed sleep.

_About time._

Phoenix smiled. "No, thank you, Edgeworth. I'll allow you to go to your comfy leather sofa now. See you in, what, two hours?"

Miles nodded his head in agreement. "Two hours, yes. If you do wake up before twelve and you need something, you know where I am."

Phoenix smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Goodnight, Edgeworth."

"Goodnight, Wright."

With that, Miles flicked off the light and padded into the living room.

A small part of him was hesitant about being so far away from Phoenix - if, for some reason, the man needed urgent help and couldn't speak loud enough to let Miles know, then they could both be in for a lot of trouble.

Even though he had already dismissed the situation, Miles had thought about suggesting to Phoenix that the two share a bed - surely he would understand? Miles highly doubted that Phoenix was going through that same emotional turmoil as himself, so, surely he wouldn't have suspected an ulterior motive?

_Not that I _have_ an ulterior motive…_

_It's just, I don't want anything bad to happen because I read into things too much. Sharing a bed with Wright for one night wouldn't change anything, and, besides, he's going to be dead to the world for most of the night._

_The doctor _did _say that I should be near him at all times._

Miles was just about to turn back around to tell Phoenix of his insecurities, when said man's voice rang out from the bedroom.

"Hey, Edgeworth?"

Miles smiled slightly to himself, but quickly wiped his face of the rare emotion. He strode back into the bedroom, turned the light on, and raised an eyebrow at Phoenix.

"Yes, Wright? What do you need? I'm trying to sleep on my comfortable sofa."

Phoenix grinned to himself, surprised at Miles' good humour. "Well, I was just wondering…"

But then he paused.

Miles raised his other eyebrow. "What is it?"

Phoenix flushed slightly, and wriggled further down into the duvet. "It's nothing."

Miles was silent, but it was the kind of silence that demanded explanation.

"Okay, fine. I was just thinking that maybe it would be easier for the both of us if you were to… sleep here. In the bed. With me. Just because, you know, it'll be… yeah. Easier. But not if you don't feel comfortable with it."

"…Of course. If it would make you feel more at ease here." Miles allowed, secretly pleased that he wasn't the one who had to ask the embarrassing question.

"Really?" Phoenix perked up, seemingly surprised. "I thought you'd say no. What, with your personal space issues and all that."

Miles scowled, switched the light off, and made his way to the other side of the bed in the dark. "Well, as long as you stay on your designated side, I will be fine."

Phoenix chuckled lightly, and shifted to the right to give Miles enough room. "Deal."

Miles slid into the already warm bed, and tried desperately to act nonchalant and casual as he lay down next to his friend. A small part of him spoke up and told him that this is what it would be like if they were to ever become a couple.

Miles ignored that part of him, because why would he _ever _want to be one half of a whole when Wright was involved?

"Are you warm enough?" he asked, clearing his throat inconspicuously.

Phoenix wriggled down further, and his arm brushed Miles'. Miles tried to ignore the strange, strange tremor that ran down his body at the touch.

_Don't do this to me now._

"Yeah. Especially now that you're here."

Miles could almost _feel _Phoenix grinning into the dark, and the thought brought a smile to his lips.

_I think you're good for me, Phoenix._

* * *

After lying awake for two hours, Miles sat up. It was incredibly distracting having another body sleeping next to his, and Miles had found himself listening to Phoenix's gentle snores instead of attempting to sleep.

His mind kept asking him questions that he didn't want to answer, and he was utterly confused about the image his mind had conjured up mere hours ago.

_Perhaps… perhaps I actually _enjoy _spending time with you, Wright. Who would ever have thought that out friendship would bloom again after fifteen years?_

Gently, Miles prodded Phoenix in the shoulder. "Wright. Wake up. It's twelve o'clock. Please don't make me have to call an ambulance."

Phoenix gave a muted murmur of sleepy agreement, and stretched out across the bed like a cat. This change in movement caused Phoenix's foot to run down the length of Miles' leg, and Phoenix sprung up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Sorry 'bout that, Edgeworth. Forgot I wasn't in my own bed." Phoenix yawned, and stretched his arms out. "And hey, guess what? I'm not in a coma!"

Miles snorted quietly, and decided to completely ignore the strange feeling of butterflies low in the pit of his stomach. "You make it sound like you're proud of the fact."

"Of course I am. You should be too." Phoenix advised. "How long do I have to stay awake for?"

Miles glanced at the dim light of his alarm clock. "Only a few minutes. The doctor told me to ask you some basic questions, so, what's your name?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes in the darkness. "Phoenix Wright. I'm a defence attorney. You're Miles Edgeworth, and you're a prosecutor. This really isn't necessary."

"Perhaps not, but you wouldn't like it you fell into a coma, would you?"

"True, true." Phoenix lay back down, and pulled the duvet up to his chin. "I was having a good dream, too."

Miles dreaded to think what about.

"How much have you slept?" Phoenix asked. "You sound like you've been awake for a while."

Miles paused. "Uh, no, I've only just woken up." he lied. "I've been quite tired recently, what with all of this extra work I've had to do."

"Ah." Phoenix muttered, shifting in the bed to face away from Miles. "What does this tell us? You need to work less and sleep more."

"Perhaps. I think you can go back to sleep now." Miles said, his own eyes feeling slightly tired.

"Hm. I'm not actually that tired now that I've woken up. Why don't we chat?" Phoenix questioned, fidgeting around again to face Miles.

_Just because we haven't done enough of that in the past few hours._

"If you want to." Miles sighed, saying goodbye to any sleep that he might have had.

There were a few seconds of silence before Phoenix spoke up. "Hey, Edgeworth?"

"Yes?"

"What's your greatest fear? Is it earthquakes?"

Miles paused, his face flushing slightly at the intimacy of the question.

_Why must you persist in making me think about my feelings, Wright?_

"No. No, it's not." Miles said slowly, hoping that Phoenix would simply accept the statement and not push the subject.

"What is it, then?" Phoenix asked, obviously curious.

_Of course you couldn't _not_ push the subject._

"I suppose… my greatest fear is becoming one of those I hate." Miles admitted, staring up at the dark ceiling with blank eyes.

_There's no going back now, Miles._

"What do you mean?" Phoenix inquired, his amusing eyebrows furrowing.

"It's just… It seems as though everyone believes that I'm a bad person; that I am willing to forge evidence in order to win a trial. You know more than anyone that I would never do something as dishonest as falsifying evidence, but it doesn't stop people from speculating. There have been rumours about me from day one, and sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve such… malice.

"Even during our re-trial of the SL-9 incident, Gant's last words to me were, 'You despise criminals. I can feel it. You and me… we're the same.' What if his assumptions are correct? Like he said, we both despise criminals. But then he did the unthinkable, and took someone's life. Twice. And it scares me, Phoenix, it really does."

_Did I just call him Phoenix? Christ.  
_

"What if my abhorrence of criminals grows so much that, I too, feel compelled to take someone's life? What happens to me then?"

Phoenix inched slightly closer to Miles, and gave a hum of sympathy. "You're too honest to turn out like Gant, I promise. You're a good person, Edgeworth."

"Thank you, Wright. But then there was von Karma. He was my mentor; everything I aspired to be. I studied below him in the hope that I could be the prosecutor he was. He was as good as my only father figure. But then it turned out that he was a cold-blooded murderer. That he falsified evidence. That he murdered my father, and took me in as a disciple of von Karma purely so that he could turn me into everything that my father wanted me _not _to be.

"He was everything that I despise, and it hurts me to think that I wanted to be exactly like him." Miles finished, closing his steel-grey eyes for the briefest of moments.

_Why did I have to go and spill _everything_?_

There was silence for a few minutes before Phoenix spoke up. "I… I hadn't realised that you were so worried about things like this. I mean, I know you keep everything locked up inside, but… Don't worry, Edgeworth. You won't turn out like Gant _or_ von Karma. You're too honorable, and you've got one thing that they both never truly had."

"And what is that?" Miles swallowed thickly; suddenly highly aware of the close proximity between the two.

"You have friends who care about you."

Miles smiled to himself in the dark; the large blanket suddenly feeling very heavy. "…Thank you, Wright. But it still worries me."

Phoenix yawned, and moved his arms so that they rested beneath his head. "My greatest fear is a little less… _original_ than yours." he revealed.

"Why? What is it?" Miles asked, genuinely curious.

"My greatest fear is losing those I love."

Miles nodded to himself. "I suppose you have a lot of people you love - a lot of people to lose."

Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Yeah, well, it certainly seems to happen enough."

Miles sat up, and frowned at his friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first there was Dahlia Hawthorne. I was absolutely _smitten _with her in my college years; I was completely in love. But then she tried to murder me, and things kind of went downhill from there." Phoenix chuckled again. "I was _devastated _back then when I realised she hated my guts. Because even though she had tried to kill me, I still loved her. You don't think straight when you're in love. But, obviously, I got over her. I grew up.

"And then I met Mia. She really helped me to understand what it meant to be a good lawyer. She was my mentor; one of my closest friends. And then I lost her too. All because she was doing her job - fighting for the truth. But, I suppose something good came out of Mia's end." Phoenix mused, more to himself than Miles. "Her death made me meet Maya.

"Maya's my best friend, and I love her _so _much. She's always there for me, and she never lets me down. But now that she's the Master of Kurain, I never get to see her. Sometimes she visits me for a week, but then I don't see her for another month or two. It used to be the other way around. I don't even get to see Pearls anymore…"

"I'm… sorry, Wright. I didn't know how many people you had lost in your life." Miles murmured, idly wondering if he would ever make it onto the list of people that Phoenix had loved and, subsequently, lost.

Phoenix smiled to himself. "Nah, it's fine. You get over these things, right? Maybe, one day, I'll find someone who'll prove me wrong. You know; someone who won't just leave me; someone will stick around during both the good and bad times. …Someone who will love me just as much as I love them."

And, strangely enough, in the deepest, darkest corner of his mind, Miles was slightly hurt that Phoenix didn't consider him to be that person.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hiya, readers! Welcome to chapter seven of this moderately not-too-bad fic! (: Again, this is a chapter you haven't seen before... kind of! (Exciting stuff...) Erm, there's not much to say about it, so... yeah.

Thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews. You guys are honestly brilliant. :P I'm glad that you're enjoying it so much!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Seven._

When Phoenix awoke the next morning, it was surprisingly early. Sunlight was making a half-hearted effort to burst through the thick pink curtains; pathetically attempting to light up the dark room.

Phoenix stretched out in the large, comfortable bed, forgetting where he was for a second.

_Huh. I forgot; I stayed the night with Edgeworth._

Phoenix glanced at the clock on his right, and stifled a groan.

_Urgh, it's only six o'clock. I wonder what time Edgeworth usually wakes up?_

Phoenix turned his head, and looked down at his friend. Miles' usually tense face was relaxed with sleep; the usually deep lines on his forehead gone. His pale arms were snaked around his pillow, face buried in the white cotton.

_Aw. He looks… happy. I wonder what he's dreaming about? _

Phoenix debated staying in bed a little longer and watching his friend sleep, but after deciding that would be slightly creepy, he got out of the bed as silently as he could.

As he crept out of the bedroom and into the living room, Phoenix noticed that his head was feeling a lot less sore. The dull, endless throbbing had, instead, been replaced with a quick, sharp pain - the sort of pain that was easily suppressed with a few painkillers.

_The doctor said that I needed to take the painkillers with food. Hm. I wonder what breakfast food Edgeworth's got hanging around?_

With a quiet yawn, Phoenix padded into the large kitchen, and started rummaging around in his friend's cupboards. As he looked for food that he understood the name of - really, that man bought too much German food - he pondered over the last twenty four hours.

_I can't believe I managed to get a concussion. That's so embarrassing. I wonder if Edgeworth hates me now - he's never really liked spending time with me, so he must be absolutely sick of me by now._

_Though, saying that, he did open up to me last night. I can't believe he's so worried that he's going to turn out like von Karma. He's such a brilliant prosecutor, and such an… _inspiring_ man. I can't believe that he would ever think that he's not amazing._

_We've had fun, though, now that we're possibly becoming friends again. I enjoyed talking with him yesterday, even though we weren't really talking about anything. Idle chatter has never really been Edgeworth's thing, so I'm glad he made an effort._

Phoenix pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard, and tried to locate a bowl.

_I wonder what he meant yesterday, though, about how he would 'willingly' meet me if I was important to him. Hm. I don't think he meant it as an insult, because he kept trying to apologize. Maybe… maybe he's just trying to let me down gently - trying to tell me that he doesn't think I'm important, and that I should quit while I'm ahead._

_Or… Could it be that he was telling me that he _wants _me to become an important part of his life? Somehow, I highly doubt it._

Nonetheless, the small idea that, perhaps, Miles actually _wanted _to be close friends again made Phoenix smile.

Triumphantly, he pulled a small bowl out of another cupboard, and sat down, alone, at Edgeworth's table and ate.

* * *

After eating his breakfast and washing up, Phoenix crept back into the bedroom. It surprised him to see that his friend was still fast asleep; completely and utterly knocked out.

_It's good that he can sleep so much. He's been so tired and stressed recently. He needs to learn how to just _stop. _Maybe I can teach him that too._

Though, as nice as it was to allow Miles some well-earned sleep, Phoenix knew he was going to get bored very quickly.

_Maybe I can use Edgeworth's laptop and check my emails?_

He wondered back into the living room, located Miles' scarily expensive laptop, and turned it on. After opening the internet and typing in the name of his email server, Phoenix logged in and smiled when he noticed an email from Maya.

_Since when did Maya have an actual email address? And I thought she said there wasn't an internet connection in Kurain?_

He clicked on the email with an amused expression on his face; taking in all of the exclamation marks and capital letters that _screamed _of Maya's endless excitement.

'_Hey, Nick! _

_You're probably wondering how I got an email, right? And probably how I managed to get internet connection in Kurain! Well, as Master of the village, I decided that the most important thing I could do was give us all internet! We had to call in some technological guy and all that (he really charged too much!) but it's okay, because NOW WE HAVE INTERNET! I managed to make myself an email account, so now we can email! Exciting, right? Also, I tried calling you a ton of times, but you didn't answer. Are you ignoring me, Nick? Well, I'll try calling you again at some point, so, until then, take care!_

_Lots of love, Maya xx'_

Phoenix rolled his eyes to himself, though he wasn't particularly surprised that the first major change that Maya had made for her village was getting them internet.

Phoenix clicked on the 'reply' button, and typed out his reply with at a meticulous speed.

'_Hey, Maya,_

_Of course I'm not ignoring you! I've just been busy! I stayed the night at Edgeworth's, but it was unintentional-'_

Phoenix re-read what he had written, and wondered if Maya would get the wrong idea. The word 'unintentional' could mean a variety of things, and, Maya being Maya, would take it in the worse possible way.

He deleted everything he had typed, and started again.

'_Hey, Maya,_

_Of course I'm not ignoring you! I've just been busy! I've been spending a bit of time with Edgeworth, and I've also got a concussion. So things are as normal as they ever get over here! I'm glad to hear that you've made such a beneficial change to the village (that was sarcasm), and I'm glad that you had a safe journey._

_I'll be waiting for your call,_

_Love Phoenix xx'_

After reading through his email to check for embarrassing typos or really bad grammar, Phoenix pushed 'send', and leant back against the white leather sofa.

_What to do now…?_

Phoenix closed the laptop with a slight 'click', and lay back against the sofa. A yawn escaped him, and he wondered what he could do to keep himself amused until Sleeping Beauty woke up.

_Maybe I should think of a plan for tonight? He seems reluctant to continue the 'lessons', and, if I don't actually teach him anything tonight, then he'll stop meeting me altogether. _

With a stealthiness surely worthy of any undercover spy, Phoenix snuck into Miles' office in search of a pen and some paper.

Surprisingly, the room wasn't painted magenta like Phoenix had been expecting, but rather a subtle brown.

_Huh. He obviously hasn't redecorated this room yet._

Upon locating an appropriate piece of paper and a blue pen that looked like it cost more than Phoenix's entire apartment, Phoenix went to make his way out of the office.

However, he was distracted by the small silver picture frame that sat on Miles' desk.

_Ooh, I wonder which picture Edgeworth keeps in his photo frame? A picture of his father, probably._

Phoenix picked up the photo frame, and smiled to himself; overcome with the type of emotion that made him want to grin from ear to ear.

_Aw. I hadn't realised that he'd kept this photo for so long. It really must have meant a lot to him, our friendship._

The simple photo frame contained a photo of three grade school boys; Phoenix, Miles and Larry. Phoenix was in the middle of the group; his skinny arms entwined around both Miles' and Larry's shoulders. Miles had his arm around Phoenix's waist; the other hand grasping a book. Larry was bending down away from the camera, so only half of his face could be seen.

_Trust Larry to ruin a nice photo._

Phoenix smiled to himself, before remembering when the picture had been taken. It had been taken the day before the DL-6 incident.

* * *

"_Hey, Edgey!" a young Phoenix Wright enthused, "Come and get a photo!" _

_Though he was only nine years old, Phoenix's hair had fashioned itself into pointy spikes; refusing to be tamed with hair gel. Though it was a constant source of mockery from the children in his class, Phoenix was proud of his unique hair because Miles had once said that it suited him. _

_Miles was smart, so whatever he said was always right._

_Miles - only a small child, though a terrifyingly intelligent one - glanced upwards from the book he was reading. "Please don't call me that name." he said, frowning at his spiky-haired friend._

"_All right, I'm sorry, Miles. Can you come and have a photo with me and Larry? I'm making a scrapbook of all of my bestest friends."_

"_Phoenix, there is no such word as 'bestest'." Miles commented; always one to point out when something was wrong. "And you should say 'Larry and I', not 'me and Larry'."_

"_Oh." Phoenix's face dropped; evidently hurt that his friend had decided to point out all of his grammatical flaws._

_Upon seeing the look on his best friend's face, Miles stood up from his seat in Phoenix's garden. "I will have a photo, though, if it is truly going in your scrapbook, like you say."_

_Phoenix smiled. "Thank you, Miles. Let's go!" He grabbed his best friend's arm, and started running._

_Miles stumbled after him blindly, slightly worried by the fact that they were running away from Phoenix's house._

"_Where are we going, Phoenix?" Miles asked._

"_Larry and I," Phoenix beamed at his friend, silently thanking him for the impromptu grammar lesson, "found this really cool tree, so we thought the photo could be there." he explained._

_The two boys eventually stopped running when they reached 'the tree'. To Miles, it looked like an ordinary tree - not one worthy of the praise Phoenix had thrown at it. Larry - an average-looking boy with low intelligence and scruffy sandy-coloured hair - was already waiting for the two, and his impatience soon kicked in. _

"_What took you guys so long? I'm so bored!" Larry whined, jumping off his perch in the tree._

"_Sorry, Larry. It took me a while to convince Miles to come." Phoenix said, puffing slightly from the run._

_Miles glared at this friend; annoyed at having the blame shifted onto him, even if it _was _technically his fault._

"_Oh, well, you're here now!" Larry grinned stupidly, and stuck his thumbs up. "We need your smartness to be able to work the camera!"_

"_Shouldn't you have figured out how it works before your photo idea?" Miles asked, worried that he wouldn't know how to work such a technical device._

"_No! You're smart, so we thought you could do it." Phoenix nudged Miles in the back gently, as if to say 'please, we need you'._

"_Fine." Miles sighed in defeat, and held out his hand._

_Phoenix handed him the camera, and gave Miles his list of instructions. _

"_I want it to take a photo when we're all ready, because I want you to be in the photo too. Do you think you can make it do that?" Phoenix asked anxiously. _

"_Yes. I'll put it on an automatic timer." Miles said, secretly pleased that his father had a similar model. _

"_Are you done yet, Edgey?" Larry moaned. "I'm fed up of waiting."_

"…_Yes. Where would you like us to stand, Phoenix?" Miles asked._

_Phoenix grabbed Miles' hand, and led him over to the base of the tree. "Here. Can I be in the middle?" he asked shyly._

"_Yes. It is your photo." Miles smiled at his friend, and ignored Larry's protests at the group's positioning. _

_Miles put the camera on the automatic timer. "It will take the photo in ten seconds." he informed the two boys._

_He got into place, wrapped one of his scrawny arms around Phoenix's waist, and held onto his book tightly with the other. The book had been a Christmas gift from his father, and Miles was very fond of it._

_The three boys smiled at the camera; Miles smiling shyly, Phoenix beaming, and Larry making an idiotic face._

_The photo was just about to be taken when Larry noticed a small green lizard at his feet._

"_A lizard!" he yelled excitedly; already distracted. _

_He bent down, and the photo was taken._

_A memory was captured._

* * *

Phoenix smiled to himself at the happy childhood memory. The three really had been good friends.

Just then, Phoenix heard Miles' slightly worried voice calling out from, presumably, the living room.

"Wright? Wright, where are you? Are you still here? Where are you?"

_Heh. I guess Edgeworth's awake now._

"I'm in your office." Phoenix called out, amused at his friend's anxiousness.

In less than a second, Miles was in the office, a scowl on his once-upon-a-time peaceful face. His silver hair was mussed up from sleep; completely unlike his customary neat appearance. He was still wearing his light 'magenta' pyjamas, indicating that his first thought as soon as he awoke was Phoenix.

_Aw._

Miles sighed. "Wright… What are you doing in my office? Why did you not wake me when you awoke? And… What are you holding?"

Phoenix grinned. "Hi, Edgeworth. Good morning to you too. I'm in here because I was looking for paper and a pen, I didn't wake you up because you've been so tired recently, and I'm holding a photo that was on your desk."

Caught off guard, Miles flinched lightly. "Er, which photo would that be…?"

Inwardly, Phoenix snickered; amused at Miles' entirely expected reaction.

_Embarrassed that you've kept the photo all these years, Edgeworth?_

"It's a photo of us three when we were kids." Phoenix explained, turning the frame around so that Miles could see the image inside. "Do you remember?"

Miles' face softened, and the corner of his lips turned upwards in a smile.

_It's so strange to see Edgeworth smile. I have to admit it, though; he looks so much more handsome when he smiles. He really should do it more often._

…_Yes, I love it when he smiles._

"Hm. It was the last day we all had together, wasn't it?" Miles mused, the lines on his forehead deepening. "December the twenty seventh."

Phoenix grinned. "Yeah. You guys were all at my house for some after-Christmas party or something. Hey, do you remember what happened with that lizard Larry picked up?"

Miles smirked. "Yes. He picked it up, and it bit him. He cried for the remainder of the day."

Phoenix started to laugh - it was nice sharing things with Miles. It had been so long since the two had spoken about life before the DL-6 incident, and it was… surprisingly touching to know that Miles hadn't forgotten the wonderful times they had shared.

"It's a pity you moved after that… incident. Who knows what would have happened to us, had you stayed."

Surprisingly, Miles flushed a dark crimson. "What do you mean? If we had been together during our teenage years…?"

Phoenix frowned. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Why? What possibly could have happened between us when we were teenagers?" Miles demanded heatedly. "What would have changed?"

Phoenix raised his hands defensively. "I don't know! I was only saying! Why are you getting so worked up about this? What's wrong?"

Miles glanced away. "Nothing. Just… forget it." And with that, he stormed out of the small office.

_Huh. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed._

Like a lost puppy, Phoenix followed Miles into the kitchen, where the prosecutor had started making his breakfast.

"Sorry if I said something to offend you." Phoenix said, sitting down on one of the bar stools at the bench. Idly, he remembered having a strangely similar conversation the day before in the Accident and Emergency waiting room. "I have a habit of offending people without realizing."

Miles glanced at him, and shook his head. "Don't apologise. It's just, sometimes I get the feeling that things are changing. Like… No, never mind. Forget it."

Phoenix tilted his head to the left slightly. "What? Like what? What's changing?"

_What's going on in your head, Edgeworth? _

"Nothing. Just drop it, Wright." Miles ordered, reaching for the cereal that Phoenix had also eaten.

"Okay, okay."

_Maybe he'll tell me what's bothering him when he's ready. Though, I must admit it; I don't like thinking that he's concerned about something. What's changing in his life? Is he talking about Kay's challenge? Because it really shouldn't be affecting him this much. I mean, all he has to do is find someone he likes enough to date. It's really not that hard._

"There's not very much of that left." Phoenix murmured, watching as Miles frowned into the cereal box. "I ate most of what was left before."

"You've already had breakfast?" Miles asked, evidently surprised. "How long have you been up?"

"Er…" Phoenix scratched the back of his head. "An hour? I've eaten breakfast and taken my painkillers, and checked my emails on your laptop. Hope you don't mind."

"Only if you didn't break anything." Miles muttered.

"I didn't!" Phoenix chirped brightly. "I'm not a total klutz, you know."

Miles gave him a sideways glance. "Sure."

Phoenix smiled to himself, thankful that Miles seemed to have got over his bad mood.

_There's the sarcastic Edgeworth I know and love._

* * *

"So, you're definitely coming tonight, right?" Phoenix asked a good three hours later. He was still not properly dressed; too lazy to get changed into appropriate clothing. Instead, he was lounging on Miles' sofa in his boxer shorts and a thin white t-shirt.

"What's happening tonight?" Miles asked from his position at the table. He was fully clothed; cravat and everything. Phoenix didn't know why he had tried so hard - who did he need to impress? It wasn't as though Phoenix was making any effort, what with his blue checked boxer shorts.

Miles was writing out his third report for the day, and didn't want to be disturbed. So, of course, it was Phoenix's job to be as irritating as possible.

"We're going out for dinner! Don't say you forgot." Phoenix tutted, shaking his head sadly.

Miles sighed, openly frustrated. "I suppose I could make it. Though, you're going to have to stop talking to me now, because I need to get some work done."

Phoenix opened his mouth to say something about the amount of work that _surely _Miles didn't need to do, when said man continued his sentence.

"I haven't done anything constructive for a few days, and I'm getting behind on the reports that I need to write up. As I was previously one of the highest-achieving prosecutors in the Prosecutor's Office, there have already been queries as to why I'm behind."

Phoenix was silent; finally understanding why Miles was so insistent about doing his work. If Phoenix didn't work, it didn't really matter. All he lost was the ability to pay his rent and buy actual food, but his landlady liked him and he could survive on cheap takeaways and Maya's cooking.

Miles, on the other hand, actually had people _expect _things of him; demanding explanations for when he fell slightly behind. If he felt like a day off to stay in bed and do _nothing at all_, he simply couldn't.

_Wow. No wonder you're always so stressed, Edgeworth._ _I don't think I could cope without at least _one _day of nothingness a week._

"Well, should I go home, then?" Phoenix suggested, sitting up from his sprawled-out position on the sofa. "I can go and get changed and stuff like that, and meet you at the restaurant."

Miles glanced upwards; evidently surprised. "Really? You're going to do something mature at let me work for once?" He smirked, but Phoenix could tell that he was quietly thankful.

"Anything to keep on your good side." Phoenix teased, heaving himself off the sofa with his unused muscles.

There was a silence as Phoenix fiddled around in the bedroom; changing from his pyjamas and into clothes that wouldn't get him kicked off the bus for indecent exposure.

Eventually, he wandered back into the living room, and stood in front of Miles.

"Thank you for everything. I'm really grateful that you let me stay here." Phoenix smiled brightly at his friend. "It's been a lot of fun."

Miles smirked again. "Well, someone needed to keep an eye on you, you concussed fool. And, er, I guess it hasn't been to bad an experience. We've not had a sleepover since we were young." he mused.

"Yeah. Those sleepovers were fun." Phoenix grinned, and stood up a little straighter. "So, I'll see you at, what? Seven-ish at the Ricksha?"

"All right. I trust you don't need me to pick you up?"

"Nah, it's fine." Phoenix rolled his eyes playfully, and made his way to the door. "I love public transport. Well, thanks again, Edgeworth! I'll see you tonight!"

And, with a click of the door, Phoenix was gone, and, he had to admit, he was glad that it was only going to be a few hours until he could see Miles again.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Hi! (: Sorry that this update was slightly late; I've been so busy recently. -_- Getting sunburnt and all that. Anyways, I hope you guys like this new chapter!I really liked re-writing this one... not sure why.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed it! :P You're all so sweet and kind. (:

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Eight._

The day had taken a turn for the colder, and Phoenix had found his warmest jacket to keep himself from getting hypothermia. He had also found one with white fur around the hood - heaven knows how he'd acquired such an item of clothing - and had quickly discarded it, before vowing to never, _ever _speak of it again.

The defence attorney had just arrived at the Ricksha - an expensive-looking restaurant that made Phoenix wince at how much everything would cost.

_Let's hope that Edgeworth keeps his promise to pay again._

As he glanced around, Phoenix was surprised to notice Miles standing near the entrance to the restaurant.

_He hasn't gone inside yet?_

He was wearing clothes that definitely weren't pink, and it made Phoenix grin.

_Wow. He must have made an effort to be casual. Huh. Only Edgeworth would make an _effort _to be _casual.

He had his back turned from where Phoenix was standing, and, very quickly, a bad idea formed in Phoenix's messed-up head.

As quietly as possible, Phoenix made his way over to his friend - silently glad that the shoes he was wearing weren't squeaking like they usually did.

_Heh. He'll probably kill me for this, but…_

Roughly, Phoenix dug his index fingers into the soft skin of Miles' waist - jabbing him in such a way that made him spin around angrily.

"Bloody hell, Wright." Miles snapped, glaring angrily at his friend. His steel eyes were hard and cold; he was obviously tired. "Can't you try to be at least a little bit mature in public?"

Phoenix grinned; completely and utterly mesmerized by his friend's overdramatic anger.

_You almost make anger look good, Edgeworth._

"Hi, Edgeworth!" he chirped, deciding to completely ignore Miles' irritated demands. "Long time no see!"

When he was met with a stony silence, he raised an eyebrow. "You okay? You look tired again, even though I was kind enough to let you sleep for most of the morning."

Miles turned pink; obviously still embarrassed at having been asleep while his 'guest' was awake. "Shut it, Wright. It wasn't most of the morning."

"If you say so." Phoenix hummed to himself, glad at having got under the prosecutor's skin. Miles had been acting… well. The word Phoenix wanted desperately to use was 'strange', but it wasn't really the right word. He was acting, well-

_Differently. You're different, Edgeworth._

He had been acting differently, and Phoenix couldn't decide whether this change in attitude was a good or a bad thing, because there was just something a little unsettling in the way that Phoenix had caught him smiling more than once over the past day.

He was talking willingly about his emotions, showing doubts in front of his self-proclaimed 'rival'… Something was changing in Miles' life, and sometimes it was good to see that his friend was still the irritable, arrogant man that he had turned into long ago.

"Shall we go inside?" Miles asked, striding inside the building with an air of annoyance. Phoenix laughed out loud, and followed behind him.

_Ooh, I think I've definitely annoyed him. _

As he entered the large building, Phoenix glanced around in awe. He could honestly say that the restaurant was the most extravagant-looking place that he had ever set foot in.

_Trust Edgeworth to know the most expensive, luxurious restaurants in the city._

The walls of the restaurant were painted a deep shade of red; a stunning colour that reminded Phoenix of wine. Each of the mahogany tables were adorned with lacy white tablecloths and large, flickering candles.

It was something out of a movie, and it took Phoenix's breath away.

"Wow." he breathed, trailing along after Miles to their reserved table. "This is so… wow."

Miles glanced back at his friend, a hint of a smile playing across his lips. "It's superb, isn't it?"

The restaurant had a high ceiling - a ceiling that had been intricately designed. It looked old, Phoenix thought, possibly Victorian. In the centre of the room, there hung a glamorous, glittering chandelier that was completely at odds with the Victorian design, yet the aspects looked perfect together.

Phoenix nodded, and sat down in his seat. Miles followed suit, and Phoenix watched him with curious eyes.

"Did you smile just then?"

Miles looked taken aback at the question. "What?"

Phoenix grinned. "You know you did. It's not like you, Edgeworth. Actual emotion? Wow."

Miles scowled, evidently annoyed. "Leave it."

Knowing that he shouldn't push the subject, or make any more sarcastic remarks, Phoenix shut his mouth, and, instead, picked up the black and gold menu on his left.

"How was the rest of your day?" he asked over his menu.

"It was fine."

"Good."

The two men sat in silence, and Phoenix began to feel awkward.

_We are _not _going to have awkward silences throughout this meeting just because Edgeworth's a little socially inept._

However, before Phoenix got the chance to comment on the weather - slightly cloudy, very cold, but, overall, not too bad - Edgeworth spoke up.

"How is your head feeling?"

Phoenix smiled. "Yeah, not too bad. Still tender to touch, obviously, though the painkillers the doc gave me are helping."

"Good." Miles nodded his head slightly, and glanced back down at his own menu.

_You do care, don't you, Edgeworth?_

As subtly as he could, Phoenix peered over at what Miles was wearing. The most prominent part of his attire was the large black trench coat that he had taken off before sitting down.

_That coat probably costs more than my entire wardrobe._

"I'm glad to see that you made an effort to dress casually. No cravat; good job."

Miles scowled. "Well, you made such a fuss when we went to that pizza place, so I thought that I would try to keep you happy."

Phoenix beamed. "See, I'm always Wright!"

"Shall we order now?" Miles asked, completely disregarding Phoenix's childish attempt at a pun.

"Uh, sure."

"What do you want?"

Phoenix took a last glance at the menu. "Uh, I'll have the smoked chicken with fries and cooked vegetables." Phoenix said, pointing it out.

Miles looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "I take you out to an expensive, elaborate restaurant, and you choose to eat chicken with fries?"

_He makes it sound like we're on a date._

Phoenix grinned sheepishly. "You missed out the cooked vegetables. I'm only ordering it because I actually know what it is. I mean, what the hell is," Phoenix put on a posh voice, "'Striped bass served with toasted shallot vinaigrette'? That sounds disgusting!"

Miles rolled his eyes. "It sounds elegant, Wright."

"Well, what are you having?" Phoenix challenged.

"I'm having the lamb risotto with salad." Miles said, smirking. "Do you know what risotto is?"

"Yes, I do, so shut up." Phoenix instructed, though his voice was void of all malice.

_It's nice to be here with you, Edgeworth. I'm actually enjoying myself._

After Miles had called over a waiter and given her their orders, Phoenix sat back in his chair.

"First off, are you sure you're okay with paying for my meal? It's just, you paid last time."

"I don't mind. I wouldn't want you to have to go without food for a month because you had paid for food here." Miles smirked.

"Okay, great. I was worried that you were going to make me pay, because I think a meal here would cost me three years salary."

Miles shook his head, obviously amused at Phoenix's lack of money.

"Okay, so the second thing I wanted to talk about was… Drum roll, please… You finding a partner. I brought an agenda, like I said I would!" Dramatically, Phoenix whipped a piece of paper our of his jacket pocket, unfolded it, and slid it across the table to Miles.

"I can't read your writing, Wright. It's a mess." Miles sent the paper back. "So just tell me. Where do you propose we start?"

"I want you to tell me what you're looking for in a woman."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Phoenix smirked to himself. "Okay, what kind of qualities would you like to see in your partner?" He generalized the gender of this imaginary partner, just in case the word 'woman' was too specific for Miles.

"Oh. I see. Well, I would like this person to be… hygienic, obviously, intelligent enough for me to be able to have a conversation with them, compassionate about my, er, difficulties with certain things, and…" Miles paused. "Er, I want them to have a good sense of humour."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "What, so they appreciate all of your witty jokes?"

"Oh, ha ha, Wright. Just because I am often unimpressed with, say, your jokes, doesn't mean that I don't value a sense of humour." Miles snapped.

_Well, I think I fit all of Edgeworth's criteria, so that's always good to know. _

…_Wait, what? This is Edgeworth's _dating _criteria. I don't think I want to be on that list._

"All right, all right, I was only commenting." Phoenix held up his hands defensively, and hurriedly moved on to the next 'topic'.

"Now, I brought along some photos for you."

Miles sighed. "Why? How could this _possibly _help my situation? I'm not going to date anyone we already know."

"I know, I know." Phoenix assured his friend. "I just want to see what type of person we should be looking for. You know, like, superficially. So, I want you to tell me whether the person in the photo is hot or not, okay?"

Miles rolled his eyes; evidently unimpressed with Phoenix's 'task'. "All right."

Phoenix pulled the photos out of his pocket, pulled the paperclip off, and held up the first photo - a photo of Maya.

"Nnngh." Miles flinched as Phoenix shoved the photo in his face. "Er…" He glanced over at Phoenix helplessly - obviously uncomfortable and out of his depth.

"Can't help you here, sorry." Phoenix commented noncommittally. "This is all your personal opinion."

_I'm so mean to him. I know how embarrassed this is making him._

"Uh, not." Miles finally decided, folding his arms across his chest.

Phoenix discarded the picture of Maya with a sad shake of his head, and instead help up a photo of Dahlia Hawthorne.

"Not." Miles determined immediately.

"Er, really?" Phoenix asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Definitely. She was, after all, a murderer."

Phoenix shook his head. "Edgeworth, this is a superficial exercise. You can't call her unattractive just because of the type of person she turned out to be."

"I'd still say 'not'." Miles replied, handing the photo back to Phoenix. "Surely that hair colour can't be natural."

Phoenix let out a loud laugh. "If you say so."

He rejected the photo, and shoved a picture of his busty mentor, Mia, in Miles' face.

"…Hot." Miles muttered, blushing furiously.

"Ooh, nice one, Edgeworth!" Phoenix teased, grinning at his friend.

"Shut it, Wright." Miles commanded. "If you're going to ridicule me, then I'm not going to cooperate with you."

Phoenix sighed; his joke lost in the dark sea that was Miles' endless irritation.

"You know, when I told her about how I became a lawyer to meet you again and all that, she told me that she thought you had a cute face." Phoenix mentioned, watching Miles' 'cute face' for something - _anything._

"Did she now." Miles muttered; not interested that someone he thought was 'hot' had, once, showed some sort of interest in him.

"Yeah. Pity she's dead. She probably would have let you take her to Kay's birthday thing."

There was silence from Miles' end of the table, and Phoenix decided it was time to move on.

He held up a photo of Franziska von Karma.

Miles took the photo, and looked at it strangely. "I can't comment on this. She's my sister."

"Okay, but if she _wasn't _your sister, and you saw her walking past, would you think that she was hot?"

"I don't know, Wright. What about you?"

_Damn it. Don't try and turn the tables on me._

"Not my place to answer." Phoenix shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that my opinion might amend your true answer, and we all know that honesty is what we're aiming for here."

_Thank God for my epic bluffing skills._

Miles rolled his eyes. "Not, then. She's a bit too… er…" Miles made a vague sort of gesture, and glanced at Phoenix helplessly.

"It's okay, I know what you mean." Phoenix grinned. "And, lastly…" he snickered to himself as he held up a photo of himself.

"Hilarious, Wright. Truly hilarious." Miles scowled at the picture, though Phoenix could see his cheeks slowly turning pink.

"Well? What's your answer?" Phoenix pressed, secretly _dying _to know what the demon prosecutor thought of his appearance.

"Er," Miles picked at a loose thread on his sleeve. "I'm not sure."

"Oh, come on, Edgeworth. Don't make such a big deal out of it! Just answer the question!"

Miles rolled his eyes, and threw his arms up; exasperated. "Well, since you seem so keen for me to answer, I'll say 'hot'. But don't, uh, get the wrong idea about that. It's not like I think about you… in that way, or anything. Because I'm not into you. Obviously."

_Oh, really, Edgeworth? You seem like you're in denial about something. Do you want to confess your love to me, right here, right now?_

…_Yeah, like Miles Edgeworth would ever fall for someone like me - a lowly mortal. We really must work on his attitude to people 'below him'. I'll put that on the list for next time. _

Phoenix snickered to himself. "Aw, thanks, Edgeworth; you're so sweet. And, uh, good to know about the… thing. You know."

Miles cleared his throat awkwardly; suddenly very interested in the tablecloth.

_Let's move on…_

"Okay. So, I think that first step to finding a partner is being able to accept yourself." Phoenix commented, not thinking about what he'd just said.

Miles' face clouded over, and Phoenix suddenly got the feeling that he'd said something terribly, _terribly _wrong.

"Wright… please. Is this really… necessary?" Miles asked, glancing up at Phoenix with dark eyes filled with hurt and unhappiness. The look on his face was one of desolation; wretched and lonely - his grief on full display.

Phoenix felt his heart clench in pity, and he cursed himself for bringing the subject up.

_Of course. The one imperfection in Edgeworth? He completely and utterly despises himself._

Phoenix opened his mouth; ready to apologise for being so insensitive, when Miles spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Wright. I don't wish to appear… unappreciative of your efforts, but I can't… I mean, I don't feel that I can talk freely about… myself and my past. It brings up too many unpleasant memories."

"No, it's… I'm the one who should be sorry." Phoenix mumbled, embarrassed. "I… I forgot."

_The DL-6 incident. It was stupid of me to think that Edgeworth would stop agonizing over the case simply because I found the true murderer. He hated himself for _fifteen _years. Why did I think that I_, _of all people, could stop his hideous nightmares? Why did I think that I could make the pain go away?_

He glanced up at Miles, who had a dark and distant look in his grey eyes. Phoenix could tell that he was reliving _that _moment - the moment where, once upon a time, he believed that he had shot his own father.

For once in his life, Phoenix had no words. So, instead, he reached out and gently placed his hand on top of Miles'.

Miles' head snapped upwards, and, instinctively, he pulled his hand out from underneath Phoenix's.

Phoenix sighed.

_Why doesn't he let me comfort him? He makes it so hard for me to tell him that I understand, and that I'm sorry that everything had to happen to him._

Taking a deep breath, Phoenix took Miles' hand again - silently telling him that he _wanted _to be able to comfort him, and that he understood.

"Edgeworth… I'm sorry. I understand how hard everything must have been for you, and I just… I just want you to know that you're not alone. Maybe you were back then, but you're not now, and you never will be."

Miles closed his eyes for the briefest of moments. "Thank you, Wright. I appreciate your kindness. I know that you found my father's true killer, and that I should be free of my… guilty conscious. Most days I'm fine, but there are other times when I wonder… What if, when I fired the gun, I hadn't shot von Karma? What if I really had shot my father?"

Phoenix smiled at his friend. "I think we should focus on the fact that you didn't. Von Karma did. Nothing will change that."

Miles smiled at Phoenix gratefully - pleased that, for once in his life, someone understood the pain he was still going through.

"Thank you for understanding."

Phoenix smiled back, though his smile was remorseful. He glanced down at their entwined fingers, and wondered how they'd ever got to this.

_A few days ago, Edgeworth, you wouldn't have let me talk to you outside of court. Now… Now we're like this, and I'm left wondering what else is going to change between us._

Finally, Phoenix released his grip on Miles' hand; smiling at the silver haired man in front of him because he knew that he didn't have to say anything else.

"Okay, so, I was wondering if you would let me take you somewhere tomorrow?" Phoenix asked, clearing his throat slightly.

"Where?" Miles asked, narrowing his eyes.

Phoenix opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the waitress bringing their meals to them.

As she placed Miles' lamb risotto down in front of him, she gave him a nice smile; her pretty face flushing a pale pink. "I hope you enjoy it, sir!" She then proceeded to hurry off into the kitchen.

Miles picked up his fork.

"She likes you." Phoenix commented absentmindedly, already shoveling food into his wide-open gob.

"No, she doesn't." Miles sighed, and shook his head. "How could she? She doesn't know what kind of person I am."

Phoenix shrugged. "Be stubborn, then. I'm only saying: she likes you. And she's pretty, polite, probably smart, and hygienic. Why don't you go and speak to her? You could ask her to Kay's birthday, and then it'd be a problem solved."

Miles shook his head. "I'm not interested."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "But she's perfect! She looked so sweet! Ask her, go on!"

"I'm. Not. Interested. Get it into your thick head." Miles snapped.

Phoenix was about to make an offensive retort, when he suddenly stopped.

_Why are you being so hostile, Edgeworth? What is it about her that repulses you? Is it that you're trying to tell me that you're g-_

"What were you saying?" Miles questioned, bringing Phoenix from his thoughts. "Before the waitress interrupted, that is."

"Oh, yeah! I was just saying that I know the _perfect _place for you to meet someone."

"And where would that be?" Miles asked, taking an elegant bite of his food.

"The swimming pools!" Phoenix enthused excitedly.

"The… swimming pools." Miles repeated, glaring at Phoenix through narrowed eyes. "How could we ever… Aren't the swimming pools usually for children?"

Phoenix grinned to himself, and answered the question carefully - forever trying to figure out what was going on in Miles' head. "No, Edgeworth. We'll see a load of hot babes in bikinis!"

Miles flinched. "You make women sound so vulgar and cheap, Wright. I don't want to end up with some… flirty, bimbo airhead as a partner."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Uh, okay. I promise you that you won't end up with some blonde bimbo. But we're definitely going swimming; no arguing."

_Know when you're beaten, Edgeworth._

"I don't… I won't feel comfortable swimming, Wright. Are you sure that this is necessary?"

"It's all about stepping out of your comfort zone." Phoenix told him gently.

Miles was silent.

"Let's meet at ten." Phoenix suggested. "What about at the café next to the pools?"

"Which café is that?" Miles asked, heaving a reluctant sigh of defeat.

"The one next to the pools." Phoenix repeated.

Miles rolled his eyes, obviously exasperated at Phoenix's childish streak. "I'm glad that settles that, then."

"Good."

"Great."

* * *

Phoenix collapsed onto his bed; completely and utterly spent. It was nice to be home, he decided, even if 'home' was covered in two-day old popcorn.

_I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the evening. I never thought I'd be so willing to see Edgeworth outside of Court. I wonder if he feels the same?_

With an inelegant huff - really, moving was _such_ an effort sometimes - Phoenix sat upwards, and started pulling off his shirt. He was far too tired to have a shower - that would have to wait until the morning. He hadn't slept too well the night before; it was surprisingly hard to focus on sleeping when Miles was at his side.

_I'm blaming that on the concussion, though._

After finally undressing himself, Phoenix sprawled out across the bed, his limbs heavy and fatigued, eyes already closed.

Just as he felt himself drifting off, his phone alerted him of an incoming text.

'_I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then. M.E.'_

Phoenix grinned to himself.

'_Not if I see you first.'_


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Hi, guys! Sorry that this chapter is a week late; I was busy all last week doing horrible things and crying. Sounds ominous; it's really not. Anywho, thanks for your epic reviews, you guys are brilliant. (: I hope you support me in this chapter, which I really think you'll like!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Nine._

Miles sighed quietly to himself as he glanced around the slightly dismal café. It was small and cramped, and, although Phoenix would probably say that it had a cosy feel to it, Miles was beginning to feel somewhat claustrophobic.

_Why am I here? Surely I could have made up some excuse as to why I could not come. This is going to be such a waste of time. Swimming; how childlike._

Unsurprisingly - Phoenix wasn't exactly the most reliable person in the world when it came to punctuality - Miles couldn't find the man he was looking for.

_Trust you, Wright, to be late._

With a prickling feeling deep in his stomach, Miles sat down at one of the tables, and, even despite himself, willed Phoenix to turn up.

_This is going to be a horrendous day. Why did I ever agree to this? Though… I suppose that, if I had to choose _one _person in the world to share this nightmare with, it would be Phoe- er, Wright. _

_Stop calling him by his first name._

"Hey, Edgeworth!" Phoenix slumped down in front of Miles, giving the prosecutor a bit of a fright. "You made it!"

Miles frowned. "I said that I was going to come, so don't act so shocked.' he snapped.

_Come on, Miles. At least _try _to be cordial. He's trying to help you in his own special way. Without him, you'd still be at square one._

Phoenix chuckled. "Come on, show me your enthusiasm."

"Don't annoy me, Wright. I'm still trying to understand why you think that this is a good idea."

Phoenix grinned. "It'll be _fun_!" he said, emphasizing the word 'fun' almost as though he was trying to convince himself that the plan he was carrying out truly was a good idea.

Miles said nothing.

_I suppose I can delay this swimming experience by having a coffee in this café._

"Do you want a coffee?" Miles offered, glancing up at the 'Hot Drinks' menu that hung suspended over the counter. "My treat. …Again."

Phoenix, who looked slightly confused at this change in attitude, smiled. "Sure. I'll have… a caramel latte, please."

Miles nodded his head in acknowledgement, and got out of his chair to order the drinks. Briefly, he wondered just how much money he had spent on the past few days simply making sure that Phoenix was fed.

_You're an expensive date, Wright. _

…

_What? This is _definitely _not a date. At all._

Shaking his head to chase away his unwanted thoughts, Miles ordered the drinks and went to sit back down with Phoenix.

"They'll be here in a minute."

Phoenix grinned, and Miles got the feeling that he could barely contain his enthusiasm.

He glanced out of the window. He could see the pools from the window, and, although it was only ten o'clock in the morning, they were fairly busy. Perhaps it was full of people who swam for the exercise, but Miles highly doubted that. Knowing his luck, it would be full of screaming, immature children who had no better place to be.

Miles turned his head to look over at Phoenix, and was surprised to note that the defence attorney was studying him carefully.

"What is it?" Miles asked, instantly suspicious. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Phoenix blinked, and shook his head. "It's, uh, nothing; I was just thinking about us."

"Us?"

Phoenix smiled, and Miles couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were pink. "Our… our friendship. Maybe 'friendship' isn't quite the right word to describe whatever it is we have, but… I don't know. I'm just being stupid."

Miles, who was curious as to what Phoenix was thinking, raised an eyebrow. "No, go on. What is it?"

"Uh, it's just; sometimes I wonder what our relationship is. Like… what we would say to people if they asked us what we were to each other. It's, er, something I've been thinking about for a while now."

Miles paused. "Our relationship? Well, obviously, we're…" But then he stopped.

_What are we, Wright? I've been feeling strange around you for sometime now. What does this mean? Is it possible that I'm… no, it can't be._

_I'm _not _feeling _anything _for Phoenix Wright._

Miles was just about to speak up, when a man placed their beverages down on the table. "Anything else?" he questioned.

"No, thank you." Miles replied politely.

Phoenix was watching him expectantly. "So?"

"I think… I think I consider you to be a friend." Miles said slowly, averting his eyes. "I would say that you're," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I would say that you're a close friend. My best friend, actually."

Phoenix beamed, his dark eyes lighting up with an animated enthusiasm that made something in Miles' stomach stir. "Really? So you don't consider me to be your rival, then?"

Miles shook his head. "…I don't think so. I think our… friendship comes before our courtroom competition."

Phoenix smiled again, and Miles wondered why his affirmation of something Phoenix _surely_ knew already was having such a positive impact on him.

"That's good to know, Edgeworth." he grinned, and Miles felt a little bit of his heart melt.

_Friends… I think there might be more to it than that, but I'm not quite sure as to what._

Miles was curious again. "What did you think I was going to say?"

Phoenix shrugged, and took a sip of his latte. "I'm not sure. I thought you'd be all high and mighty and say that I was merely an acquaintance or something."

Miles was silent. It hurt that Phoenix had felt that he hadn't thought anything of their friendship. Perhaps Miles gave Phoenix the impression that he didn't care enough, and… Miles wanted that to change.

_You were always going to be more than my acquaintance, Phoenix._

* * *

After both men had finished their drinks, Miles shot a last glare at his coffee cup - wishing that it had been larger.

"Let's go swimming now!" Phoenix enthused, jumping up from his chair. He made his way over to the door, and beckoned Miles. "Come on."

Miles followed the bouncing attorney a lot less eagerly, a scowl on his face.

_It'll all be over in a few hours._

Phoenix grinned at him, and the two men walked in silence. Miles took the time to - for reasons he didn't want to look into too closely - examine what his friend was wearing.

_He looks nice today. Not that he doesn't usually look nice. Because he does. Even in that tatty suit of his. Not that I've noticed how he looks, of course, because I don't notice things like that. Especially not about him._

Miles scowled to himself, and wondered briefly when he had started thinking about his friend so much.

_Stop it, Miles. This is getting ridiculous. This is Wright. He's your childhood friend, and your courtroom rival. Stop thinking about him. _

Without really noticing it, the two men had reached the entrance of the building.

Miles frowned.

Phoenix smiled at him. "You'll be fine. Like I said yesterday; it's all about stepping out of your comfort zone."

Miles sighed a tad dramatically, and stormed inside in front of his friend, muttering a grumpy, "That doesn't mean I have to enjoy it," as he went.

The two stopped at the large counter, where Phoenix - who had money for once, and was actually quite proud of it - paid the measly pool fare, which, oh-so-fortunately, allowed them entrance.

As soon as he walked into the pools, Miles couldn't help but to wince.

_This is horrendous. _

Though it was only ten thirty in the morning, the pools were busy. And, like Miles had feared, it was full of giggling, screaming children who _obviously _couldn't read the rules suspended on the wall. '_No bombing, no running, no bullying.'_

Everything was so _loud_, and Miles could feel a pounding headache beginning in the back of his head.

"Didn't the doctor say that you shouldn't do any physical activities for a while?" Miles suddenly remembered as he trailed after Phoenix into the changing rooms, avoiding large puddles as he went.

"Yeah, but she said I couldn't do any physical activities for, what, twenty four hours, and it's already been twenty four hours. And, anyways, it's not like I'm going to start swimming lengths or anything."

Miles sighed; visibly frustrated that another one of his efforts had failed. "Well, what _are _you going to be doing, then?"

"Er, playing around. Going on the waterslide. Doing handstands." Phoenix grinned at him, and Miles resisted the urge to tell him to act like an adult for once.

As they made it into the changing rooms, Miles rolled his eyes. It was small and cramped, foul-smelling and obviously dirty.

_I already hate it._

Phoenix gestured to the small cubicle on Miles' right. Miles noticed that only one of the cubicles was free.

"Do you want to get changed in there? Or…" Phoenix smiled, and turned around to indicate that Miles could get changed in the public area. "You know, there."

"I'll try to maintain what little dignity I still have left." Miles scowled, and stepped into the cramped room that smelt moldy and had suspicious marks on the floor.

Avoiding the stains on the cold, wet floor, Miles shut the door and locked it firmly. He opened up the small backpack he had brought with him, and pulled out his swimming shorts.

Absentmindedly, he rummaged around - looking for the shirt he had packed; Miles never had been one for exposing himself in public.

However, after a few minutes of increasingly frantic searching, Miles came to the sudden, sick realization that perhaps he hadn't actually packed his swimming shirt.

_I _did _pack it, didn't I? _Didn't_ I?_

After emptying the contents of his bag and confirming that, no, he hadn't packed the shirt, Miles scowled to himself.

_Well this is bloody brilliant. How utterly embarrassing. I'm going to have to go out there and tell Wright that I can't swim because I don't have my shirt._

…_No, he'll just think that I forgot it on purpose. I don't want him thinking that I'm too cowardly to go swimming._

_I _can _do this._

And, with the forced courage of someone who wants to curl up into a ball and die, Miles unlocked the rusty door and strode into the - thankfully empty, save for Phoenix - changing rooms, his arms wrapped tightly around his naked torso.

_I'll just have to pretend that I-_

Miles stopped.

Phoenix wasn't wearing a shirt.

Now, it wasn't the fact that Phoenix wasn't wearing a shirt that made Miles' heart beat at twice its normal speed, it was because, well, Phoenix wasn't wearing a shirt, and he looked _good._

_Damn _good.

Luckily for Miles, Phoenix had his back turned, so he didn't notice Miles' unintentional ogling.

_I… I didn't know he worked out…_

Phoenix had surprisingly tanned skin, Miles noticed. Even from the back, Miles could tell that he was made up of muscle - slim muscle, perhaps, but that made it all the more attractive to Miles.

His black shorts were a size to big, and the drawstring was doing _nothing _to keep them in a place where Miles wouldn't be having breathing issues. Instead, the board shorts hung low - invitingly, temptingly, _teasingly _low_ - _on his thin hips.

And when Phoenix turned around…

The first thing Miles saw was the thin line of hair that ran from his naval and, eventually, disappeared from Miles' inquisitive eyes.

_Phoenix…_

Belatedly, Miles realised that Phoenix was watching him, and he yanked his eyes upwards; not missing Phoenix's modestly muscular chest as he did so.

"I, uh…" Miles trailed off, wondering how he could explain why he had been staring at his friend's body without sounding, well, gay.

"You're not wearing a shirt?" Phoenix asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miles breathed an inward sigh of relief - thankful that Phoenix was as dim as ever; too oblivious to notice that his best friend had just been ogling his body.

_Which, obviously, was not what I was doing._

"Of course I'm not wearing a shirt." Miles finally managed to force out; his voice sounding slightly strangled. "Were you expecting me to?"

"Yes." Phoenix answered honestly, and flashed Miles an award-winning grin. "You're always so uptight and private. Well, I'm not complaining, so…" With that, he bounded out of the room - as impatient and animated as always.

As he followed Phoenix, Miles wondered what he had meant by 'I'm not complaining'.

_Obviously he just meant something… something not weird. He wouldn't mean it like that, would he? No, of course not. I'm nothing to look at; especially of he's ever looked in the mirror._

_Christ, Phoenix, why are you so frustratingly hard to read?_

After dumping his bag next to Phoenix's, Miles went and stood next to where his friend was standing at the edge of a large pool. Absentmindedly, Miles marveled at how different their skin colours were; milky white against glossy tan.

"You okay?" Phoenix asked him gently, and Miles remembered that he was supposed to be having a panic attack at the thought of going swimming, and not because he had seen Phoenix's naked chest, and he didn't hate it. At all.

"Uh, fine." Miles replied. "I'm fine."

Phoenix nodded, and, with that, dived into the large pool in a way that Miles would almost call elegant. Miles watched on in amusement as Phoenix's head popped up out of the water. Phoenix then shook his head violently, causing water to spray everywhere.

Just because he hadn't had enough surprises that day, Miles was taken aback, though he didn't quite know why - he was a smart man, and he understood the concepts of physics - to notice that, when Phoenix's hair was wet, it lacked its usual pointed style.

Instead, Phoenix's dark hair hung down around his jaw line - framing his strangely adorable face and reaching his chin.

_You look hot, Phoenix._

There was no other way to put it - Phoenix looked hot. His tanned, toned body was glistening with tiny droplets of water, his hair wet and mussed up and all around his face, and, goddamit, that stupidly endearing grin was on his face.

_What does this mean, Miles? What does… viewing Wright in this new light mean? You never used to think of him as hot - you always thought that he was a disheveled mess._

_Oh, shut up, it means nothing. Surely I can appreciate someone's body without it meaning anything, even if it _is _Phoenix we're talking about._

_Okay, so maybe drooling over his body does make me a little bit gay, but that doesn't matter, does it? It's not like I want _Wright _of all people. That's just stupid._

_Oh, for God's sake, brain; just shut up now. You're _not _gay, especially not for _Wright. Definitely_ not for Wright_. _He's your friend. You don't really think that his body is hot, you're just tired._

_Yes, that's it. You're tired. You're not thinking properly._

Scowling to himself, Miles unwrapped his arms from his torso and slipped into the pleasantly cool water. He waded out to where Phoenix was floating on his back, and raised an eyebrow as Phoenix smiled lazily up at him.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

Miles sighed, and had to admit that, no, it wasn't as bad as he had been expecting. Though, maybe that was because his brain was distracting him with other, more treacherous thoughts.

"It's all right." Miles allowed, hovering awkwardly next to Phoenix's static body. "I would still have preferred to meet in a café or something."

Phoenix made a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement, and, suddenly, stood up.

"Hey, Edgeworth, can you do a handstand?" Phoenix asked him. Before Miles got the chance to reply, Phoenix ducked under the water, and balanced on his hands; his legs out of the water. He then wobbled slightly, and Miles smirked as he rose to the surface of the water.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're rubbish, Wright. I can see why you're a lawyer and not part of a synchronized swimming team."

Phoenix chuckled. "Yeah, because you're so much better than me." he challenged.

Before he could change his mind, Miles submerged into the water and made his legs as straight as possible. He managed to stay balanced for nearly twenty seconds more than Phoenix, and, when he emerged, he smirked.

"See?"

Phoenix was grinning at him like an idiot.

"Aw, see, you can have fun!" Phoenix enthused, his gaze softening. "The Miles I knew back in grade school is still in there, somewhere."

Miles sighed softly, and wiped water from his eyes. "Perhaps he is." he said gently; more to himself than Phoenix.

_I just… need someone to find him._

Addressing Phoenix this time, Miles raised an eyebrow. "Why is it so hard for you to comprehend that I have fun sometimes?"

Phoenix's eyebrows drew together, and he held back a laugh. "Er, because you're you-"

"Strangely enough," Miles muttered sarcastically.

Phoenix shot him a look. "And I always presumed that your idea of 'fun' would be watching Steel Samurai re-runs with a cup of tea." he continued.

Deciding that it was time to ignore the conversation, Miles said nothing about Phoenix's - all too true - accusation.

Phoenix soon piped up. "Can we go on the waterslide now?"

"No."

"Great." Phoenix enthused, making a strange face at his friend. "Let's go." He grabbed Miles' arm, and started leading him towards the waterslides.

Miles groaned under his breath, though he wasn't sure whether he was groaning because he didn't want to go on the waterslide, or because Phoenix was touching him again.

"See, there's three different waterslides." Phoenix explained as the two made their way over to the metal stairs. "One's for kids, the second one's more, er, fun-" he hedged around the word 'terrifying', Miles noticed. "And the last one is absolutely brilliant."

Miles looked upwards at the twisting plastic of the waterslides.

"If you think I'm going on one of the waterslides, you've got to be joking." Miles hissed. "I am not - I repeat, am _not - _going to partake in any activities involving those horrendous looking… _things._"

Phoenix rolled his eyes playfully, as if to say, _'Oh, what are you like?'_

"They look horrendous." Miles repeated, shuddering.

"You'll be fine. You're the Demon Prosecutor, remember? You're not supposed to be scared of anything."

"I'm not _scared._" Miles lied, noticing that he was still following Phoenix to the waterslide, and that Phoenix still had his hand on his arm.

"Sure you're not. It's okay to be afraid, Edgeworth. Even the best of us have fears."

"I'm not scared."

"Just admit it."

The two had reached the steps up to the waterslides, and Miles decided that they looked even more frightening up close.

"Coming?" Phoenix enquired.

"No."

"Scaredy cat." Phoenix shot Miles a glance, and slowly made his way up the metal stairs.

Miles glanced around him. He was standing amidst a group of small children - children who were watching as their older brothers - older brothers who were probably only nine - braved the most terrifying waterslide.

Feeling foolish amongst the children, Miles sighed, and made his way up after Phoenix.

"Decided to join me, Edgeworth?" Phoenix sounded far more amused than Miles would have liked.

"You wouldn't have shut up about it otherwise." Miles grumbled, his slight fear of heights preventing him from looking downwards.

"Good call."

When they reached the top of the steps, Phoenix turned to Miles. "Which slide do you want to go on?"

Miles looked at the three different slide openings.

_Best go on the middle one. Then we won't have to wait in line with children, and I won't have to go on the last one…_

"The middle one." Miles selected carefully.

Phoenix grinned at him, and made his way over to the - thankfully cue-less - slide.

"I'll go in the front." Phoenix said as the two reached the entrance. "Sit behind me and hold onto my waist."

"Fine."

Phoenix clambered into the opening of the slide, and held onto the plastic handles at his sides to prevent himself from going down without Miles.

With a huff, Miles cautiously climbed in after Phoenix, and hesitantly placed his arms around Phoenix's waist.

"Let's go!" Phoenix released his grip on the plastic railing, and Miles felt himself hurtling down the slide.

There was a sudden splash of cold water on his face, and Miles realised that they were plunging down the slide faster than he would have liked; twisting and turning painfully around every corner.

But them everything went dark; completely and utterly black.

Miles gasped loudly; suddenly afraid of the tight, dark space. He was overcome with a sudden feeling of claustrophobia - a feeling he hadn't experienced since that fateful day in the elevator.

"It's all right, Edgeworth!" Phoenix yelled over the rushing sound of water. "It's meant to be like this!"

Miles pulled himself closer to Phoenix in response - clutching desperately at his slim waist.

_Oh Christ. Please don't faint. That would be utterly degrading. Please don't faint._

He pressed his eyes closed, and tried to breathe normally.

_In, out. In, out. In, out._

A small part of him noticed that Phoenix was shouting, "Whooop!" at the top to his lungs.

_At least someone's enjoying this object of torture._

A particularly violent turn in the waterslide made Miles gasp again, and, involuntarily, he dug his nails into Phoenix's soft skin. He briefly wondered if Phoenix would be marked by him - deep red crescent moons - and the thought made him shiver.

_Surely it should be ending soon…_

As if on cue, the waterslide came to an abrupt stop - causing both men to tumble out of it and into the pool below. Limbs were entwined; legs, arms, even bodies, and so, rather shamefully, Miles pushed himself away from Phoenix.

Immediately, Phoenix noticed the strange look on Miles' face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pushing his still-mesmerizing hair out of his eyes.

"It's, uh, nothing, really." Miles cleared his throat.

"What?"

"Well. The slide was just so… dark and enclosed. It reminded me of that day in the elevator. But I'm fine. It's nothing."

Phoenix shook his head; spraying water droplets everywhere. "That incident really screwed you up, huh? Reckon you'll ever learn to live with it?"

"No, I don't think so. It… It caused me a lot of heartache; too much to forget, I think."

"The incident after the DL-6 case caused _me _a lot of heartache." Phoenix commented casually, fingers drifting down to drag across the surface of the water.

"The SL-9 incident?" Miles asked, confused.

"No, not that one. The one after the SL-9 case."

Miles raised an eyebrow.

_Which incident is this? I'm sure I asked Franziska to tell me if there were any serious cases while I was away. Which case could possibly have caused him a lot of heartache?_

Phoenix turned slightly pink. "You know, the incident when the note 'Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death' was found on your desk." he said, the emotions in his brown eyes unreadable.

"Oh…" Miles was at a loss for words. He had known that his 'suicide' had upset his friend, but, when he sat at his desk and wrote the note, he would never have thought that Phoenix would be 'heartbroken' about it. "Did that, er, incident really concern you?"

Phoenix looked positively aghast. "Of course it did! You're my best friend, and I'd only just found you again after all those years. Of course I was heartbroken. I thought you had killed yourself, and that I hadn't been able to do anything to help. That… That you didn't want me to do anything to help."

Miles swallowed thickly, a strange sort of emotion building up in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Wright. I had no idea that I… that I hurt you so much. When I left the note, I did so thinking no one would care."

Phoenix's gaze softened. "Everyone cared. You should have seen Detective Gumshoe. And I _definitely_ cared. I'll admit it - I was a bit depressed for a while. And…" He paused.

"And?" Miles prompted, mildly aware that the two men were almost indecently close. He could feel Phoenix's warm breath ghosting along his cheeks, and it was a sensation that he hadn't experienced before.

He was glad that the pool they were standing in was almost empty.

"And, that first night when I realised that you were gone, I cried myself to sleep." Phoenix admitted quietly, lowering his eyes to watch Miles' reflection in the water.

_You… cried? Because of… me? My 'death'? _

_Phoenix…_

"I'm sorry, Wright." Miles murmured quietly. "I really am."

"It's all right." Phoenix said gently, taking a miniscule step forwards. "You're here now."

It was then that it suddenly occurred to Miles that, if he were to tilt his head to the left, and move forward ever-so-slightly, then the two men would be kissing. It was strange, because even though he despised physical contact of any kind, Miles wanted nothing more than to connect his lips with Phoenix's; to feel Phoenix's silky skin beneath his fingertips.

He wanted the physical connection so much that it almost hurt.

He glanced upwards and found himself staring into Phoenix's _beautiful _eyes, and there was something there, in those dark orbs, that made Miles think that, maybe, Phoenix was thinking the very same thing.

Miles' breath caught in his throat as Phoenix's gaze shifted downwards to quickly glance at his mouth. Probably without realizing it, Phoenix tilted his head downwards, angling his mouth in such a way that it would take no effort at all for Miles to capture his friend's velvety lips with his own.

_Is this all in my head, Phoenix? Or… Or is this something you want too?_

Slowly, Phoenix licked his lips - not seductively, but nervously - and Miles found himself following the action; his heart thudding and his eyes unblinking.

"Phoenix…"

Phoenix was breathing heavily, Miles noted, and his face was a pale shade of crimson; utterly adorable in the childish way that only Phoenix could manage.

_I think… Phoenix, I think I'm…_

Slowly, and without thinking about the consequences of his actions, Miles leaned forward; gently, quietly, softly, causing noses to brush and-

Phoenix pulled back and ducked under the water.

When he surfaced, Phoenix grinned at Miles, though the prosecutor got the feeling that it was a bit of a forced smile.

"Well, I've had enough angst for one day." he announced, running his fingers through his hair.

"Can't handle emotional situations, Wright?" Miles smirked, his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

_Damn it. Why was I so unguarded? I _genuinely_ wanted to kiss my best friend then. What's wrong with me? _

… _And, how embarrassing; Phoenix obviously doesn't feel… the way I do, whatever that is. Good job, Miles, you've gone and stuffed everything up between us now._

Phoenix smiled in response. "Guess not."

There was an awkward silence as both men debated about whether they should say something about the event that had almost transpired.

_Should I tell him that… despite the odds, despite everything I believed about myself, I truly wanted to kiss him?_

But, perhaps that was a confession for another day.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Hiya! (: How are you guys? It feels like it's been ages since I posted a chapter (probably because it has been, haha. School; always getting in the way...). Well, thanks for the great response to the last chappie; you guys are all so encouraging and awesome. Thank you.

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Ten._

It was three days since the swimming debacle, and, strangely enough, Phoenix found himself waiting outside office number one-two-oh-two, a brown paper bag containing two muffins clutched in his hand.

He didn't really know why he was outside Edgeworth's office's door. Was it so that he could ask about what had happened in pools? Because, even though, at the time, he had tried to deny it - had tried to blame the almost-kiss on unfamiliar emotions and heavy stress and god-knows-what-else - he knew that something had happened between them.

Or, perhaps, was he waiting outside Edgeworth's office so that he could try and convince himself that nothing had changed? That - even though they had almost kissed, and he hadn't pulled away until the very last second - everything between them was as normal as it ever was?

But, at the back of his mind, he knew the truth; something in their relationship was changing, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not.

Phoenix scratched at his forehead. The way forward was to, obviously, act as though nothing had happened.

_Edgeworth would probably get all angry and insecure if I brought it up anyways._

With a deep breath, Phoenix knocked on the door, and waited patiently to be allowed entrance.

"You may enter; the door is open." Miles called out, his tone of voice sounding as uninviting as always.

Phoenix pushed the door open, and stepped into the room; suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of _pink_.

_Edgeworth is the only man I know who could be obsessed with the colour pink without it being _too _gay…_

Miles glanced up at his visitor, and immediately scowled as he saw who it was.

"What do you want, Wright?" he demanded, putting his pen down. "I'm busy, and not in the mood to chat."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Are you _ever_ in a mood to chat?"

He was met with a stony silence, so Phoenix hastily cleared his throat.

"I don't want anything, not really. I just wanted to come and see you. It's been a while since we went swimming, and I, uh, wanted to talk."

Miles immediately dropped eye contact, and started fiddling with his pen. "There's nothing to talk about, Wright. If that's all you came for, I must ask you to leave."

_Oh good. We're back to square one. What happened to us being friends again? What happened to us sharing things? What happened to me listening as he poured his heart out? _

"What's your problem?" Phoenix suddenly burst out, his grip on the brown paper bag tightening. "Why can't I talk or see you anymore? Have I done something to offend you?"

He knew that, no, he probably hadn't offended Edgeworth this time, but he was sick and tired of letting him treat him like crap, and, if getting Edgeworth to retaliate was the only way of getting him to talk, then so be it.

"Or do you just not want to be friends? Is that it?" Phoenix finished, sending Miles a glare telling him that he had better start talking.

Miles sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course that's not it, Wright. Stop being melodramatic. I'm just busy."

"Oh, well, that explains everything then!" Phoenix rolled his eyes. "You're busy. Yeah, that's a good reason for us not to be friends."

"We've had this argument before." Miles levelled him with a cool glare. "You know that I'm busy because I have a lot expected of me. I'm not a freelancer, unlike some. I can't just drop everything to spend time with you."

Phoenix shook his head to himself, and attempted to calm down. "Look, I know you're busy, but we haven't spoken - at all - for three days. Can't you spare a few hours?"

Miles shot him a look.

"I have muffins…?" Phoenix held up the paper bag, and smiled sheepishly.

Something in Miles' demeanour changed, and he shook his head exasperatedly - fondly. "You're such a child, Wright. But, if you insist, I suppose I can let you stay for half an hour or so. But you mustn't distract me from work."

Phoenix grinned. "Your wish is my command, Prosecutor Edgeworth." With that, he made his way over to Miles' pink sofa, and draped himself across it.

"What are you doing?" he asked, feigning interest.

"Writing out reports." Miles answered curtly.

"Why don't you just type them out on your computer?" Phoenix asked, curious as to why Edgeworth would willingly write out a report when he could just whip it up on the computer in much less time.

"Some people appreciate the effort put in to actually write out a report." Miles said - as high and mighty as always. "It's something you wouldn't understand."

Phoenix was silent; not trusting himself to not make a sarcastic comment.

"What's with all the pink?" he asked instead. "Bit, er, feminine, isn't it?"

"It's not pink, Wright." Miles said, rolling his eyes. "It's magenta. There's a difference."

"Well, that's like saying cobalt is different from blue, isn't it?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow at his friend. "They're both the same. Magenta _is _pink."

Miles was silent.

_Ah ha! He has no comeback for that! I win!_

"I don't know why I'm even having this conversation with you." Miles grumbled under his breath. "You have no sense of style whatsoever. Your office is white."

"Ah, but it's a _stylish _white." Phoenix snickered to himself.

_I'm glad things aren't awkward between us. Perhaps I should just forget about the almost-kiss scenario. Maybe I'm just reading into the situation too much. It was probably nothing._

Nevertheless, Phoenix vowed to himself that he would mention the incident to Miles at some point in the future - just to confirm that he was thinking into things too much.

Phoenix pushed himself up from the - surprisingly comfortable - sofa, and walked over to Miles' weirdly organised desk. He started fiddling with the pens and pencils in the tin on the surface.

"How many blue pens do you have?" he asked randomly, trying to remember how many of his he had counted barely a week before.

_Eight… nine…?_

Miles looked upwards; confusion written in the deep lines of his face. "What?"

"Never mind; I'll count them. Do you have any spare paper I can scribble on? I need to be able to see which ones are blue and which ones are black. You can't always tell by looking at them."

Miles shot Phoenix another glare. "Can't you amuse yourself elsewhere? Why are you counting my pens?"

Phoenix shrugged. "I'm waiting for you to take a break. Can I have that paper?"

"No. Go and do something else." Miles instructed.

Phoenix put down the collection of Edgeworth's pens that he had gathered, and wandered over to the large bookshelf on his left. He noticed that they were all organised in alphabetical order.

"How do you keep your books so organised?" Phoenix asked, wondering if he could pick up a few tips on how to keep his office tidy.

"I don't read them often, so they just stay the way I originally put them." Miles replied.

"Oh."

_No tips there, then._

_Urgh, I'm so bored. What can I do to make this visit less boring? Edgeworth's such a party pooper._

_Hm. Maybe I could start a Court battle? That could be fun._

Phoenix strode back over to Miles' desk, and slammed his hands down violently.

"I object to the prosecutor's amount of work." Phoenix yelled, grinning mischievously.

Surprisingly, Miles raised an eyebrow, but didn't tell Phoenix off for shouting. "I object to the defence's claim. It's hardly my fault. I need to work - it's not optional."

"Objection! Of course it's optional! Don't you get to choose the cases that you want?" Phoenix was confused.

Miles smirked. "Objection! The defence shouldn't talk about how the Prosecutor's Office works if he doesn't know the facts. Of course we don't get to 'choose' our cases. Each prosecutor is assigned a certain number of cases, and that doesn't change."

"Hold it! Are you willing to submit that statement as testimony?" Phoenix demanded, enjoying the game he had started.

"Testimony to what?"

"Testimony to the fact that you work too much!"

"No. If you require a testimony from me, let me think about it first." Miles instructed.

"Fine. Please testify to the Court- er, me, about why you think you have a normal workload."

Miles cleared his throat. "Okay. We prosecutors are all allocated our cases, and we do not get to refuse these cases, unless we have an exceptional reason. Essentially, this means that all of the Prosecutor's Office has the same amount of work, except for those who request extra. Just because you seem to be under the impression that your workload is normal, doesn't mean that my own is too much."

_Hm, giving testimony like a pro… How can I find a contradiction in this…?_

Phoenix cleared his throat. "All right. Well, you said, 'Just because you seem to be under the impression that your workload is normal, doesn't mean that my own is too much,' right?"

Miles nodded, evidently amused.

"So, does that mean that you think that I don't work enough?"

"Yes, of course it does."

"Hold it! How would you know how much work I have?" Phoenix inquired, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"How many days in the last week have you worked?" Miles asked instead; a smug look on his face.

"Er… Moving on." Phoenix smiled brightly, and, after ignoring Miles' eye roll, reflected on the testimony.

"So, you said, '… all of the Prosecutor's Office has the same amount of work, except for those who request extra,' didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And, I'm willing to bet that you're one of those prosecutors - am I correct?"

"Again, yes."

"Hold it! So, you admit that you often have more work than other prosecutors - meaning that your workload is greater than most?"

"Well, I suppose so, but there are many other prosecutors who request extra cases." Miles gave an overconfident shrug. "It all depends on which cases we were assigned in the beginning."

"Hm." Phoenix started pacing - walking up and down the length of Miles' desk; a lion trapped in a cage.

"Can't find any holes in my testimony, Wright?" Miles smirked to himself.

"Hold it! The witness will refrain from talking to the defence!" Phoenix demanded, his hands slamming down on the table in front of him.

_Come on… there's got to be something…_

"Wait, hold on." Phoenix suddenly said, stopping in his tracks. "Before, in your not-quite-a-testimony-but-still-a-valuable-statement thing, you said, 'Each prosecutor is assigned a certain number of cases, and that doesn't change,' didn't you?"

"…Yes." Miles said, eyebrows furrowing.

"Well, that's a lie, isn't it? The number of cases that you get does change! You've been lying to the court, Miles Edgeworth!"

Miles gave a mock flinch. "Oh, no, Wright. You figured it all out. How will I possibly cope?"

Phoenix gave Miles a wide, smug grin.

"I mean, sure, you were spectacularly wrong, but well done." It was Miles' turn to give Phoenix a smug smirk.

"I wasn't wrong!" Phoenix objected earnestly. "I'm never wrong, you know."

Miles rolled his eyes, and put down the pen that he had been holding. "When I said…" he stopped, and shook his head. "Never mind; it doesn't matter. You're still wrong."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Okay, sure. Can you please take that break now? I want to eat the muffins that I spent so long picking out at the bakery!"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Well, I suppose that, now that you've distracted me from my work, I can afford to take a - very short - break." he huffed.

_Result! _

"Great!" Phoenix enthused, making his way over to the cream sofa. He sat down, and grabbed the bag of muffins that he had left on the coffee table. "Come and eat."

Grumbling under his breath, Miles made his way over to the sofa and sat down beside Phoenix.

"I'm surprised that you actually managed to afford these muffins." he speculated, watching as Phoenix pulled them out of the paper bag.

"I'm not as poor as you think!" Phoenix said defensively, handing Miles a strawberry muffin. "Here. I chose you a strawberry one because you like pink so much."

Miles took the muffin, and eyed it disdainfully; taking in all the sugar and the masses of icing. "It doesn't look particularly healthy."

"It's a muffin!" Phoenix all but shouted, exasperated. "It's not supposed to be healthy!" He reached into the bag and pulled out his own muffin - a chocolate one. Not because he liked the colour brown, but because the only other muffin flavour they had was blueberry, and blueberries were fruit.

_Not exactly an ideal muffin flavour. Who would want a _fruit _muffin? Obviously Edgeworth, if he's so keen on eating healthily. _

"Try not to make crumbs, please, Wright." Miles warned, watching as Phoenix bit into his muffin with an eager enthusiasm.

"I won't." Phoenix assured him through a mouthful of cake.

The two sat in silence - Phoenix munching inelegantly at his muffin, and Miles delicately pulling bits off his.

"So, Wright, why aren't you working today?" Miles finally asked.

Phoenix swallowed. "I don't have any clients at the moment." he shrugged. "There's no point in me being at the office if I've got nothing to do."

"And have you done anything to amend that fact?"

"What fact?"

"The fact that you've got no clients." Miles said, infuriated.

"Oh. No, of course not! I can't make murders happen! Well, I mean, I _can, _but then I would be the one needing defence, so that wouldn't really help."

Miles rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Have you actually been telling people that you've got no work, or have you been lying?"

"Does it make me a bad person if I say that I've been lying?" Phoenix grinned sheepishly.

"You're so incredibly lazy, Wright." Miles chided, shaking his head.

"No, I'm not! Well, not really. Only on occasions. It's just that, well, I wanted to have time to spend with you." Phoenix smiled, slightly embarrassed for reasons unknown to him.

"Excuses, excuses. I find it hard to believe that you're risking your income, and therefore your wellbeing, just so that you can meet with me whenever you feel like it."

_Why do you find it so hard to believe that we're friends, Edgeworth?_

Phoenix simply shrugged, too tired to enter the tedious debate about their possible friendship.

Instead, he decided to start a conversation about either the ever-rising price of petrol, or the story behind the pink jacket framed on the wall - not that he particularly cared about the latter, but it seemed like a polite and relatively safe topic to enter into - but was interrupted when Miles' office phone rang.

Miles put down his muffin, got up from the sofa and strode over to his desk, and motioned for Phoenix to be quiet before picking up the phone.

"Hello, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth speaking." he answered, making no effort to sound enthusiastic about his career.

Phoenix yawned to himself; ready to listen to one half of a very interesting conversation about prosecuting. So, he was pleasantly surprised when Miles ran his fingers through his silver hair and said, "Ah, hello, Kay."

_Ooh, it's the legendary Kay. This'll _definitely _be interesting. Well. One half of the conversation will be._

_Hm. I wonder if I could try and pair Edgeworth and Kay up? I mean, sure, Edgeworth said he didn't want to date anyone we knew, but surely Kay would be the obvious choice? He knows her well, and obviously trusts her…_

_Wait. I wonder how old she is?_

_Ah, never mind. My guess is that he's gay, even if he won't admit it._

"No, Kay, not yet." Miles muttered into the phone, scowling as he did so. "Give me time."

_Heh. She must be asking Edgeworth if he's found a partner yet. We haven't really made much - _any - _progress on that. Whoops._

"What...? No, Kay, of course not! Why would you even suggest something like that?" Miles suddenly exploded into the phone, startling Phoenix for a second. "That's… preposterous!"

_Ooh, what's happening? What has she suggested?_

Phoenix strained his ears; trying desperately to hear was Kay was saying at the other end of the line.

"No, I'm sorry for shouting, but-" Miles was cut off again, and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, Kay, I know. Calm down. …Have you decided on a date, at least?"

_Yes, it'd be good to know when our deadline is._

"You haven't? Well, perhaps that's something you should decide before you make a fuss about me not having found a partner yet, don't you think?"

_Good call, Edgeworth._

"Okay. I'll speak to you soon, Kay." Miles sighed, and hit the 'End' button on the phone.

"Who was that?" Phoenix asked innocently; trying to act as though they both had no clue that he had been listening to the entire conversation.

"That was Kay." Miles replied, scowling at his friend.

"Oh. What did she have to say? I heard you getting a bit, er, het up there for a minute."

Miles turned a faint shade of pink. "Uh, not much. She still hasn't decided on a date for her party." he commented, scowling.

"Well, we've got plenty of time to find you a partner then, right?" Phoenix queried, grinning at his friend.

"I suppose so."

"Kay seems like a nice girl." Phoenix hinted.

"She is." Miles agreed, walking back over to sit on the sofa. "A tad loud, but nice enough."

"Why don't you ask her out?" Phoenix asked, tilting his head to the side. "She seems perfect to me."

"No." Miles said firmly. "Definitely not."

_Surprise._

"Why not?" Phoenix asked, feigning curiosity.

_Ooh, maybe he's finally going to come out of the closet? I mean, she seems __like a genuinely nice person, so what reason could he give me for not asking her, apart from the obvious?_

"I don't, er, like her in that way." Miles muttered, looking downwards. "So it's completely pointless."

"Edgeworth," Phoenix whined, rolling his eyes. "You don't like _anyone _in 'that way'!"

Miles paused for a second, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched Phoenix. His face was pink, his eyes dark and indecipherable. "Wright, I…"

_What?_

Miles looked away; obviously uncomfortable with Phoenix's intense gaze. "Never mind."

Phoenix sighed.

_What were you going to say, Edgeworth? What were you going to tell me? _

Instead of pushing the subject, however, Phoenix asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Hey, er, Edgeworth?"

"Yes?" Miles looked up again, and his face possessed the calmness it usually held.

"Why are you afraid of falling in love?"

_There. I said it._

Miles looked startled, and his expression turned to one of annoyance. "What are you talking about, Wright? When have I ever said that I'm afraid of falling in love? What are you basing your - completely wrong, I might add - accusations on?"

Phoenix chuckled under his breath. "Come on, Edgeworth. I'm not stupid. It's obvious that you're afraid of… something to do with love. Why else would you be so worried about having to find someone to take to Kay's party?"

Miles was silent, and Phoenix wondered if the question he'd asked had been too personal. Just as he was about to apologize for his inquisitiveness, Miles spoke up.

"Okay, Wright, you're… right. It's just… The thought of letting someone in, giving someone the chance to… to hurt me… well, it scares me." he admitted gently.

Phoenix felt his heart clench.

_Oh, Edgeworth. I wish I could help. You're so broken inside, aren't you?_

"If you fall in love with the right person, then there's nothing to be afraid of." Phoenix reminded him quietly. "Not everyone is out to hurt you."

Miles shook his head. "It's just, the last person I loved was my father, and, when I lost him, the pain was… well, it was almost unbearable. The thought of going through all of that again when I could so easily avoid it… Well. Opening my heart to love will open my heart to pain, and I think I'd rather I've without both."

To his surprise, Phoenix felt a strange prickling at the back of his eyes. He was completely moved by Miles' heartbroken speech, and it hurt him to think that Miles had chosen to live a loveless life because he was afraid of the unknown.

"But what if you fell in love with someone you trusted not to break your heart?"

_Someone you trusted. Someone like… well, me. I wouldn't break your heart, Edgeworth._

Surprising himself with his thoughts, Phoenix felt his cheeks reddening to mirror Edgeworth's.

_Wait, what?_

_Is… Is the thought of Edgeworth falling in love with me, and me with him, something that I… wouldn't hate? Is it something that I could truly consider? No, surely not. Wouldn't that be such a terrible mistake for our friendship? Wouldn't that destroy everything I've worked for… everything we've achieved?_

_But perhaps… Perhaps it would make me happy; deliriously happy. Maybe it'd be the best thing to ever happen to us. Perhaps making that final step would be the best thing we could ever do._

_Because… I do like Edgeworth. I think he's amazing, intelligent, and, well, I suppose he's good looking. Oh, all right, he's incredibly attractive, what, with his silver hair and intense expression and broad shoulders… Oh God._

_So does this mean that… falling in love with Edgeworth… is something that's… actually a possibility? Is it something I… want?_

…_Yes, I think it is._

_Oh God._

"Who could I trust not to break my heart?" Miles asked, lifting his eyes to gaze at Phoenix with something akin to desperation.

There was something in Miles' eyes that echoed the look he had seen back in the pools when they had almost kissed, and as Phoenix stared back, he suddenly realised that this was it. His next words could change everything; could make everything _better. _The strange urge to embrace his friend and whisper gently in his ear was almost unbearable.

_Me. Oh, God, it's me. It's been me all along. We're supposed to be together Edgeworth. It's me who won't break your heart. It's me. Oh God._

Phoenix opened his mouth, ready to form the word, 'me', but he was suddenly gripped by real terror.

_What if he rejects me? What if the incident in the pools was just a misunderstanding, and he didn't actually want to kiss me? What if… What if I ruin everything by announcing that it's me who won't break his heart, when this is something I've only just thought about?_

_I need time to think about this 'revelation' before I act on it. Because, surely I can't seriously be thinking about me and Edgeworth… together. That's ridiculous. He doesn't even really like me that much. I don't want to speak up now only to realise that I don't have any feelings for him at all._

_Because then I really might break his heart._

"I don't know, Edgeworth. I just don't know."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two men sat on the sofa, both wondering when Miles had started expressing his emotions so liberally.

_Damn it. I really shouldn't have come today. It's made everything worse instead of better._


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Wow. What is this? An update? Sorry guys about all the waiting you've done; I've been super busy for ages! (: Finally managed to get this done for you, though. (:

Anyways, thanks for all of your very kind reviews, they're all so positive and sweet. (: You guys are amazeballs. (Who even says amazeballs? Who invented it?) So, anyways, because you guys are awesome sauce (again, ?), please keep reviewing!

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Eleven._

_With trembling fingers, Miles picked up the strangely light gun that rested at his feet. He was angry; angrier then he ever had been before. How _dare _that man yell at his father? How _dare _that man scream?_

_Without thinking of the consequences, Miles threw the gun at Yogi as hard as he could - with all of the force of a terrified, angry child._

_*Bang.*_

_The next time Miles opened his eyes, his father was dead._

* * *

Miles awoke with a gasp, his dark eyes flickering open to scan the room before closing briefly when he realised where he was. Gingerly, he sat up, and glanced to his left to look at his alarm clock.

Seven o'clock. His alarm didn't go off until seven thirty, and he always knew that he was in for a long, tiresome day when he woke up before his alarm went off.

With a heavy sigh, Miles got out of his bed - there was no point in lounging around in bed; he may as well get ready for work.

As he pulled his pale magenta robe off its hook and wrapped it around himself tightly, Miles chided himself for having the same dream every night - despite the fact that Phoenix had cleared his name.

_It's time you forgot about DL-6, Miles. You need to move on. It's what father would have wanted, and you know that._

Miles stifled a yawn, and padded across his apartment and into the kitchen. It felt strange, his apartment - its lack of Phoenix made it feel oddly empty. And he definitely had to admit; he hadn't slept as well as he had that night when he was with Phoenix.

_What is it that you're doing to me, Phoenix?_

After the horrible incident at the pools, Miles had found himself drawing away from Phoenix in the way he always had before. He wasn't sure what it was that had almost transpired, but he knew that it was something that shouldn't _ever _happen.

Yet, he had found himself pondering on the situation far more than he would have liked. Because the sensation he had felt in that single second was more powerful, more brilliant than anything he had experienced before. And there was something intoxicating, something fascinatingly whimsical in the thought that it was Phoenix - _Phoenix, _of all people; brilliant, amusing, foolish, completely _clueless _Phoenix - who had inspired such bliss.

It had Miles second guessing everything he had thought about his feelings towards his best friend, and, again, he found himself wondering what really was happening - or what could possibly happen in the future - between them.

Miles shook his head, and cleared his mind of its perilous thoughts.

_Stop thinking about him, Miles. It's not worth it._

* * *

It was eleven o'clock when Phoenix rang, and, stupidly, _stupidly_, Miles picked up.

"Hello, Miles Edgeworth speaking."

"Hi, Edgeworth! It's me!" Phoenix's chirpy voice rang out across Miles' phone's speakers, and Miles felt a headache coming on.

He sighed to himself, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good morning, Wright. What do you want?"

"Lunch. With you." Phoenix murmured into the phone.

It had been a few days since Phoenix had gate-crashed Miles' office, and, much to his disdain, Miles found that he had caught up on all of the work he needed doing. He knew that the fact that he had finished everything should please him, but… well. It gave him less of an excuse to avoid going out with Phoenix.

"Why?" was Miles' first response, even though he already knew why.

Phoenix chuckled. "Because we're friends. And we haven't seen each other in a while. And we've still got to find you a partner."

Miles sighed into the phone. "I saw you a few days ago."

There was a bit of a silence on Phoenix's side, and Miles got the strange feeling that it was an awkward silence. Finally, though, he spoke up.

"Yeah, well. Can you make it or not?"

Miles shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "…All right. But not for too long."

Phoenix's voice brightened instantly. "Great! There's this really nice Chinese restaurant in town, so let's meet there."

After giving Miles slightly confusing and probably incorrect directions, Phoenix said goodbye and hung up the phone; leaving Miles with the horrible feeling that the lunch date was a mistake.

* * *

It was twelve o'clock when Miles put down his fountain pen with a sigh.

_I'd better leave in a few minutes. I don't want to be late._

He still had the dull feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that something bad was going to happen, and it unnerved Miles.

_Why am I so nervous? I've seen Phoenix since that day at the pools, and, though it was slightly awkward, it was fine. Nothing has changed between us. And nothing probably will. _

_Lunch will be fine, and then I can come back here and work myself into oblivion._

After picking up his coat and locking his office, Miles made his way to the staircase - passing the elevator like he always did.

But this time, he stopped.

His irrational fear of the metal contraption annoyed Miles; why was he so afraid? Just because he had had one unpleasant experience in an elevator didn't mean they were all going to end in tragedies.

_What does Phoenix think of my inability to use the elevator? He must think of me as a child._

With a forced type of confidence, Miles pushed the small metal button on the wall, and waited nervously for the elevator to appear. He fiddled nervously with his fingers, and jumped a bit when the doors pinged open.

_I can do this._

Taking a deep breath, Miles took a step forwards; striding into the dark, empty box. But then he stopped, sighed, and turned around to retreat back down the stairs.

_Old habits die hard, I suppose._

Once outside, Miles made his way to the restaurant Phoenix had suggested - luckily, it was within walking distance from the Prosecutor's Office. It was a nice walk; calming and peaceful, and it gave Miles time to properly think about what was happening between himself and Phoenix.

_All right, so it's obvious - even to me - that something almost happened at the pools. I think- I think we almost kissed. Which is something… something I think I wouldn't mind if it were to actually happen._

_What does this mean? That I… That I want a relationship with _Phoenix? _No. Surely not. I've never wanted a relationship with anybody before. _

_Nngh. How can I seriously be considering this?_

Miles curled his fingers into tight balls at his side, and carried on walking; counting to one hundred in French and German inside his head to distract himself from his _terrible _thoughts.

_You betray me, mind.  
_

* * *

Once he reached the restaurant, Miles had a quick look round.

_I can't see Phoenix anywhere… Please say that he's not late. This is all I need. Him to be bloody late when I've had to take time off work._

With a slightly melodramatic sigh, Miles strode into the restaurant, black coat flapping behind him.

So, he was pleasantly surprised to notice that the very man himself was sitting at a booth in the corner of the room, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

With a smile that he quickly extinguished, Miles walked over to the booth, and sat down in the chair opposite Phoenix.

"Good afternoon, Wright."

Phoenix looked up, and beamed his ridiculous smile. "Hi, Edgeworth! Glad to see you made it!"

_Why does he always seem so absurdly pleased to see me?_

Miles leveled Phoenix a mild glare, and took his jacket off and draped it across the back of the chair.

"Of course I made it."

Phoenix chuckled, and it was a pleasant noise that Miles hadn't really noticed before. Hearing Phoenix laugh was probably akin to hearing an angel sing.

…_What?_

Miles cleared his throat awkwardly, and looked around at the interior of the room he was sitting in. It had wooden walls and red paper lanterns strung across the ceiling. There was Asian writing on a sign above the counter, and Miles had to admit; he was impressed with Phoenix's choice.

"The restaurant you've chosen is… nice. I like it." Miles said, speaking slowly, as though he was afraid of appearing too eager.

"Thank you! It's quite cheap, so I like going here when I've got a bit of money. It's definitely better than cheap takeaways or Maya's startling cooking!" Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Also, guess what?"

"…What?" Miles hedged, hesitant now.

"You know Iris Hawthorne?"

"The girl you dated when you were studying art?" Miles asked, suddenly resenting talking about Phoenix's 'exes'.

"Yeah. The one we defended at Hazakura. Well, she's finally managed to pay my defence fees! So I can pay for lunch today!"

Miles gave a gentle smile; amused at Phoenix's juvenile excitement.

_It doesn't take much to make him happy._

"That's good. Thank you."

"Do you want to order now?" Phoenix asked, reaching for one of the two menus that lay in the middle of the table.

"All right." Miles said, mirroring his actions.

"Choose anything you want." Phoenix allowed generously. "I'm paying, remember?"

Miles smirked to himself, but kept quiet; keeping his sarcastic comment to himself.

They read in silence for a few minutes, and Miles was thankful for the English translation they had at the side of the page. He'd never thought about learning an Asian language; choosing instead to master as many European languages as he could.

"Have you chosen?" Miles finally asked, looking up from his menu.

_It seems as though we spend a lot of our time looking at each other over menus these days._

Phoenix glanced upwards, and a lopsided grin tugged at his lips. "Yes. Have you?"

"Yes."

"Great." With that, Phoenix's hand shot up into the air to alert one of the waiters.

After the waitress had taken their orders - 'egg-fried rice with beef and vegetables' for Phoenix, and 'sweet and sour chicken with noodles and stir-fried vegetables' for Miles - Phoenix leant back in his chair.

"Hey, I was thinking about how we're supposed to be finding you a partner." Phoenix mentioned, flashing Miles a sheepish - yet stupidly flawless, and Miles cursed himself for noticing - smile. "We've kind of got distracted by… well, everything."

"I suppose we have." Miles murmured, nodding his head in agreement.

"Are you _sure _there's no one you've got your eye on? Anyone could be helpful."

Miles shook his head, and he felt his stomach clench. "There is no one."

Phoenix sighed. "All right then. But I honestly don't know who you're going to go with."

Miles was about to open his mouth, we he noticed that the same waitress as before was bringing their food over.

_That was fast. Phoenix has definitely chosen a good restaurant._

Miles thanked the waitress politely as she placed his dish on the table. He picked up the chopsticks he'd been given.

"Aw. I didn't get chopsticks." Phoenix complained, looking down at his meal morosely.

Miles rolled his eyes to himself, and gestured towards the fork lying to Phoenix's left. "But you got a fork, so stop complaining."

* * *

After the two had finished eating, Phoenix pushed his plate away from him, and smiled across at Miles.

"Hey, do you want to buy a fortune cookie?" he asked eagerly.

"If you would like." Miles replied, deciding to humour his friend.

"Awesome! They're really accurate here. I came with Maya once, and she got one that said 'You will fall in love this afternoon', and then when we left the restaurant, we went looking around the shops and she saw this _huge _Steel Samurai doll, and she totally fell in love with it." Phoenix gushed, nodding his head at Miles. "So you never know."

Miles smirked.

_I'm not entirely sure that's what the fortune cookie meant…_

There was silence for a few seconds as Phoenix tried - in vain - to call over another waitress.

"Ahem." Miles cleared his throat awkwardly. "I, uh…" he started, before pausing. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Phoenix glanced towards him, eyebrows drawn down in bewilderment. "You what?" He lowered his arm, and turned to give Miles his full attention.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. It's, uh, a bit embarrassing." Miles stammered, feeling like a complete fool.

"No, what is it?" Phoenix urged, smiling warmly in the way that made something in Miles' stomach flutter.

"I was just going to say that I tried to take the elevator today, but…" he trailed off rather lamely, and dragged his eyes away from Phoenix's.

_Why do I constantly feel the need to bore him with my woes?_

"That's good, Edgeworth." Phoenix smiled at him sympathetically. "Baby steps, I think, is the best way forward."

"Hopefully."

"You know, I like seeing you like this." Phoenix commented, looking at Miles approvingly.

"Like what? Embarrassed?" Miles scowled.

Phoenix chuckled. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, I like it when you open up to me. You know, when you tell me things. Emotional things. Things that I don't know about you."

Miles smiled, albeit briefly.

_This is why you're wonderful, Phoenix. You never judge me, no matter what I've done._

"The waitress seems to be ignoring us." Phoenix grumbled after a few seconds of silence. "I'll go and order the cookies from up at the counter."

Before Miles could protest, Phoenix was up at the counter, ordering the cookies enthusiastically.

_I wonder what mine will read? Not that I believe in any of this rubbish or anything. But… I guess it will still be interesting… From a non-subjective type of way, at least. _

Phoenix strode back to the table, looking utterly pleased with himself. "They'll be here soon."

"Great." Miles deadpanned.

"Hey, you know, I've just thought of something!" Phoenix suddenly burst out, grinning from ear to ear. "You could take Maya to Kay's party!"

_I'd rather take you._

"Ms. Fey? Won't she be in Kurain?" Miles enquired politely, his mind screaming _'Nooo' _at the thought of having to entertain Phoenix's kooky assistant for an entire night.

"She might be." Phoenix mused. "I could ask her, if you want."

"Kay hasn't set a date yet."

"Oh. Well, I could still ask her if she'd be willing to go, if you want." Phoenix smiled.

"Uh… No, thank you. I wouldn't want to drag her away from her responsibilities." Miles lied through his teeth.

"Okay then!" Phoenix chirped. He was about to say something else, when his phone started ringing; the loud 'Steel Samurai' theme song impossible to ignore.

Phoenix looked startled for a second, before scrambling around in his pockets for his new phone.

"It's Maya… speak of the devil. Do you mind if I take it?"

"Not at all." Miles indicated that Phoenix should answer.

Phoenix smiled, and pushed the call button on his phone.

"Hi, Maya!"

Over the next few minutes Miles sat, awkwardly listening to one side of the conversation. He noticed a few murmured 'I miss yous' and one very clear 'I love you'.

He tried not to let his mind wander about the possibility of an actual relationship between the two - something that Phoenix kept denying.

Finally, Phoenix said his goodbyes, and snapped his phone shut sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I haven't spoken to Maya in, what, forever?" he laughed humourlessly to himself. "But she's fine, so… yeah. Everything's all good."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Just then - as though the waitress had been watching Phoenix on the phone - the fortune cookies arrived. Phoenix grinned, and watched as Miles picked up his cookie.

"Er… How do you eat it?" Miles asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"You mean you've never eaten a fortune cookie before?" Phoenix asked incredulously.

"No. They're not exactly common in Germany." Miles said sarcastically.

"Right. Well, what you do, is you…" Phoenix paused, before snapping his cookie in half. "Snap it in half, like so." He pulled out the little piece of paper from inside the biscuit.

"What does it say?" Miles asked.

"It says - '_Accept your feelings for what they are, and don't try to hide from them. This is the beginning of something good, and denying it will only make you unhappy. Carpe diem - seize the day.'_

Miles raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Phoenix shrugged. "I guess I've got to accept some feelings or something. And I'm going to be happy soon."

Miles paused. "Are you not happy now?"

Phoenix smiled. "I am. But I'll be happier. Hey, open yours now!"

"All right."

Hesitantly, Miles snapped his cookie in half, wincing slightly as it crumbled in his hands. Carefully, he pulled out the small piece of paper, and unfolded it.

"Well, go on. Read it out loud." Phoenix demanded.

"Okay. '_The person who will make you truly happy is someone you never thought you would fall in love with. He-'"_

_He? Hmph._

"'_He is handsome, funny and trustworthy. But you must act quickly, otherwise all could be lost. Don't be afraid.'"_

Phoenix was silent for a few seconds.

_Please say he doesn't pick up on the-_

"He?"

"What?" Miles asked defensively. "I didn't write the fortune, did I? It was probably meant for some sappy girl."

Phoenix shrugged. "I guess. What do you think it means?"

"I don't know, Wright." Miles muttered, a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.

_Is it talking about…?_

Suddenly, Miles stood up abruptly - surprising himself. "I have to go to the restroom. Urgently."

Phoenix looked concerned, and he made to stand up. "Are you all right? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Miles brushed him off. "I'll be back in a minute."

He turned from the table, and strode into the male's restroom. Once inside, he turned on the cold tap, and splashed his face.

_What - or rather, who - is it talking about? _

Miles straightened up, dried off his face, and reached into his trouser pocket for the pages he had photocopied out of a book called 'Love, and Other Mysteries' that he had borrowed from the library.

He flicked through the pages until he found the one he wanted. It was titled 'How to Know If You're in Love.'

'_**If you **_**are**_** in love, there will be several 'symptoms' that you will have noticed.**_

_**a) You notice small, unimportant things about them.**_

_I… I guess I have noticed things about him. Like, the way he dresses, or the way he smiles, or the way he laughs…_

_**b) You don't sleep well when you're away from them.**_

_That is… true also. I haven't slept since that night that we spent together._

_**c) Your appetite is gone; the only time you eat is when you're with them.**_

_This morning is a testament to that. I couldn't eat anything._

_**d) You can't stop thinking about them.**_

_This is the most true of them all. He's always in my head, no matter what I'm doing. Work, Court, lunch… _

_**e) **_**_You are thinking about a specific person while you read this._**

_Oh, Christ. It's you, Phoenix. I think... I think I've fallen in love with you._

With shaking hands, Miles shoved the paper back into his pockets, and strode back into the restaurant. Phoenix was still sitting where Miles had left him; his childish face all lit up because of something on his phone.

_Of course I've fallen in love with you, Phoenix. How could I not? You're… You're good for me. You're everything I need in a partner._

As he approached the table, Phoenix glanced upwards, and his face spread out in a wide, sincere grin.

"Are you okay now? I was just about to go in there and get you." He joked, laughing to himself as though he thought he was hilarious.

"I'm fine. Everything is… all right. Finally."

Disregarding Phoenix's confused look, Miles sat down.

_Finally. Everything is good._

* * *

Author's note... again: Everyone's opinions are different, but I like thinking that Miles is comforted by the fact that he finally knows what's happening in regards to his feelings towards Phoenix. Like, now he actually understands how he's feeling. (: This'll probably end up changing in the next chapter, but whatever. (:


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note: First off, if you're still here, then I love you. (: And second: I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE. I've been so busy at the moment, and I've also been through a bit of a rough time (nothing serious, in case anyone was worried), but that's not an excuse and I'm sorry. All of your lovely reviews were read, and I appreciate all of them. So, thank you if you're still here for this fic, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

~Rainbow Fruit Loop xx

* * *

~Irresistible Love and the Turnabout~

_Chapter Twelve._

"Okay, Maya. See you in a few hours." Phoenix put down the phone, and sat back in his office chair.

Maya had just called to say that Kurain didn't need her at the moment, and that she would be coming back to stay with him for a few weeks. But, because Maya was not the most reliable, nor the most organised person in the world, she had rung him up to ask if he could pick her up from the train station in a few hours.

_Good thing I didn't have plans with Edgeworth or anything… Not that we would have plans._

It had been a week and a half since Phoenix had met Miles at the restaurant, and for some reason, Miles had dropped all contact since then. It had Phoenix awake for hours each night - had he done something? Had he said something? Had he _forgotten _something?

He didn't think that he'd done anything to offend the prosecutor, but you couldn't always be sure with Miles.

_Why now, Edgeworth? I've only just realised how I feel towards you, and now you're dropping all contact?_

Because he had realised that it was true. The strong feeling of love and desire he had experienced during his and Miles' heart-to-heart was something he realised he had felt for a long time. The almost-kiss in the pools… well, that just proved it.

Sure, Miles was sometimes a bit of a jerk. But they'd been kind-of best friends for years, so, surely it was only natural for Phoenix to develop some not-so-platonic feelings?

Phoenix sighed, and wondered how he could convince Edgeworth to stop ignoring him.

_Maybe I should call him and ask him to come and meet Maya with me?_

_Yeah, that might work._

With a renewed enthusiasm, Phoenix reached for the phone, and quickly dialled Miles' number. He held it up to his ear patiently, and, just as he was about to hang up because the whole thing was futile, Miles answered.

"Wright, whatever you're hoping to drag me along to, I can't, because I'm busy." was his greeting statement.

Phoenix made a deadpan face, and rolled his eyes inwardly.

"Hi to you too, Edgeworth. It's so nice to hear your voice."

There was a bit of a silence on Miles' side, and Phoenix wondered if he was regretting his rudeness.

_I hope so, arrogant prosecutor._

And then, finally, he spoke up. "I'm… sorry, Wright. What do you want?"

Phoenix cheered up.

"Okay, well, Maya's coming back from Kurain today! And I have to pick her up from the train station, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

There was another silence on Miles' side, and Phoenix tapped impatiently at his desk with one of his many blue pens.

"What time are you picking her up…?" Miles asked hesitantly.

Phoenix grinned to himself.

_Result!_

"Uh, about eight at night, so you'll be done with all of your work." Phoenix said, beaming into the phone. "So you don't really have an excuse not to come along."

"It seems a bit pointless," Miles muttered, his voice slightly muffled by the sound of paper being shifted in the background, "to travel to the train station with you, only to meet Maya and then leave."

_Oh._

Phoenix was stumped momentarily, but then quickly covered it up.

"Yeah, well, Maya was telling me about this new club that she wanted to go to, so we're going to go there after I pick her up." he lied, praying that, when the time came, Maya would play along.

"A club…?" Miles asked, uncertainly. "I don't do clubs, Wright."

Phoenix sighed. "Come on, Edgeworth! Live a little! Have some fun! When was the last time we did something fun together, anyways?"

Miles was silent.

Phoenix was silent.

After what seemed like hours of unnecessary silence, Phoenix decided that enough was enough.

"What's your problem, Edgeworth?" he demanded, his finger twirling around the phone's cord.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Miles said immediately.

"Well, why have you been avoiding me for a week and half?" Phoenix asked, curious even in his frustrated state.

"I haven't. I've just been busy." Miles snapped, obviously uncomfortable with the question.

"Oh, so that means that you didn't have time for _one _phone call then, huh?"

Miles sighed, and Phoenix imagined him pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wright, please. Stop acting so childishly. I don't have time for your stupid arguments."

Phoenix exhaled deeply, and probably a little dramatically. "I just want to know if I've done anything to offend you, that's all."

"You haven't done anything." Miles muttered.

"What's wrong, then?"

"It's just I-" Miles made a frustrated noise, and then sighed. "It's nothing. Nothing for you to bother with."

_What's wrong, Edgeworth? Why can't you tell me what's happening in your life? I really thought that we were getting somewhere._

"Please, Edgeworth. You can tell me if something's happened." Phoenix told his friend, suddenly worried.

"I don't think I can, Phoenix." Miles murmured.

_Phoenix. He called me Phoenix. Whatever it is, it must really be bothering him if he's calling me by my first name._

_Maybe, if I manage to convince him to come to the nightclub, I can get him to tell me what's happening. Get him drunk enough so that he'll say everything he's too afraid to tell me sober._

"Okay then." Phoenix told his friend, his voice firm. "Well, to get your mind off whatever's happening, you should come out with Maya and I tonight. It'll be good fun, and you won't even think about what's bothering you."

Miles gave a wry chuckle. "I can assure you, being out with you tonight will not help in the slightest."

"But…?"

Miles sighed again. "But, I will come out with you, if you want me to."

Phoenix grinned triumphantly. "Great, Edgeworth. I'll see you later then."

* * *

It was exactly sixteen past eight when the three entered the nightclub; Phoenix excited and grinning from ear to ear, Maya slightly confused but happy to be back nonetheless, and Miles with his distinctive scowl dominating his face.

"It's very loud." Miles commented, raising his voice so that Phoenix could hear him over the music. "And very bright."

"I think that's the point." Phoenix shouted back, raising an amused eyebrow.

Miles rolled his eyes in response, and turned away to scan the room.

Maya took the opportunity to quiz Phoenix.

"Nick! _Nick!" _she hissed, tugging at Phoenix's arm. "What's happening? Why are we here? Why is Mr. Edgeworth with us?"

"Shh, Maya." Phoenix hushed her, lowering his head to talk into her ear. "I'm pretending that it was all your idea. I'm trying to figure something out."

"Wait, wha-"

Miles turned back around, and Phoenix dug Maya harshly in the ribs to shut her up.

"Why did you want to come to this club, Ms Fey?" Miles asked, narrowing his eyes as the strobe lights brightened. "I didn't think you were particularly interested in clubbing, especially at your young age."

Phoenix held his breath, curious as to how Maya would bluff her way out of the question.

"Well, I decided that I should start living life a little!" Maya enthused, grinning widely - strangely - at Miles. "And Nick seemed pretty keen, so why not?"

Miles nodded to himself, and turned towards the bar on the group's right.

"I can pay for the drinks tonight!" Phoenix jumped in, wrestling his way to stand next to Miles. "Iris paid me for my defence serves at Hazakura." he informed Maya with a pleased look on his face.

"Ooh, Iris contacted you again, did she?" Maya asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a way that was supposed to be suggestive, but just looked downright creepy. "How is she, Nick?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes.

_What does she think that there's something happening between Iris and myself? Do I give people that impression? Does- does Edgeworth think that there's something happening between us?_

Miles raised an eyebrow at Maya's inquisitive question, yet Phoenix didn't notice the scowl on his face.

"Nick's got a real thing for Iris." Maya told Miles, despite Phoenix's deadly glares. "I reckon it's L-O-V-E." she spelt out, bringing her fingers together to form a lopsided heart.

Miles' face turned slightly stormy, and Phoenix wondered why.

_Is he annoyed because he thinks I have a girlfriend and he doesn't? I don't want him to be jealous. And I don't… I don't want him to think I'm in a relationship._

When Maya started scrutinizing the drinks menu, Phoenix turned to Miles, urgency evident in his movements. "Edgeworth, we're not actually together. Me and Iris. We're not- you know, there's nothing happening."

Miles turned to him with distant, slightly reproachful eyes. "What you get up to in your spare time doesn't bother me, Wright."

Phoenix sighed to himself, and turned to Maya - only to find that she was chatting happily to some young, good looking boy who couldn't be much older than herself.

_Well, if nothing good comes of this night, at least Maya's - hopefully - found someone normal to talk to._

Phoenix turned back to Miles, and regarded him approvingly.

"Nice jeans, Edgeworth." he commented, hoping to tease Miles out of his seemingly bad mood. "Where did you get them from?

Miles glanced downwards at his _very_ snug black jeans. "Thank you. I got them from a shop in Germany."

Phoenix chuckled. "Why are all of your clothes so expensive?"

"Why are all of your clothes so cheap?" Miles returned quickly, raising an eyebrow.

"Touché." Phoenix beamed at Miles, and glanced up at the drinks menu. "Hey, what do you want to drink? I'm buying, remember?"

"How could I possibly forget, Wright?" Miles asked, though he sounded more amused than annoyed. "This is the first time you've had money in months."

Ignoring Miles' unnecessary taunt, Phoenix asked his question again. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water, please." Miles said politely.

Phoenix raised in eyebrow in response. "What? Water, Edgeworth, really? _Water? _Come on, you're not _that _old. Have something more exciting."

_Getting him wasted is obviously going to be a hard task._

Miles shook his head. "I'm driving, Wright. I can't drink."

_Damn, that's a pretty good excuse…_

"Why don't you get a taxi?" Phoenix suggested. "We can share."

Miles still looked pretty dubious, so Phoenix smiled brightly. "Come on. It'll help you forget about all your issues, and it's not like we're going to get wasted or anything. We'll just have a few drinks."

Miles rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. "All right, fine. But if you get wasted, Wright, then so help me…"

* * *

An hour, two martinis for Miles, two tequilas for Phoenix, and five vodka shots each later, Phoenix was convinced that getting Miles to spill his secret was a pretty likely outcome of the night.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have let you persuade me into drinking this much." Miles grumbled as he swayed awkwardly in time to the pounding music of the club. "If I have a hangover tomorrow morning, I will be committing homicide, Wright."

Phoenix - who was just as drunk as Miles, though he was hoping he'd still be able to remember everything the following morning - smiled at his friend.

"If - if you have a hangover tomorrow, I don't think you'll be in any state to attempt to kill me." Phoenix replied slowly, also dancing inelegantly to the music.

"Then I'll kill you the next d-" Miles hiccupped, "-day."

Phoenix chuckled, and then cleared his throat.

"Hey, Edgeworth?" he asked, trying not to slur his words, because then Miles might figure out just how tipsy he really was. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Miles' forehead creased as he thought. "Nothing's bothering me, Wright. The alcohol is making me happy."

"No, no, the things that were bothering you _before _you got dru- uh, before you drank the alcohol."

Miles was silent for a few seconds, and just as Phoenix was reaching for his magatama in order to win the battle of wits that was sure to follow, Miles spoke up.

"Oh, _that. _I understand. Yes. What's bothering me is that I, Miles Edgeworth, have fallen in love with someone! Properly in love!"

Phoenix's jaw dropped open, and he was sure that - for one single second - his heart stopped beating.

_You're… what? You're in love with someone, Edgeworth? Someone who isn't… who isn't me?_

The pain cut through his body in a way that made him want to curl up into a ball and cry, yet Phoenix tried his best to smile. Miles was his best friend, and if he wanted to talk about this person he was in love with, then Phoenix needed to be there for him, his personal feelings be damned.

But it still hurt. It hurt to realise that he wasn't enough for Miles - that Miles had looked elsewhere for love, even though Phoenix could have given him everything. It made Phoenix feel like he was only a few inches tall; an easily squash-able bug.

But instead of voicing all of his pain and regret, Phoenix smiled tightly at his friend.

"Well, lucky her. What's her name?"

Miles' eyes narrowed, his eyebrows pulling downwards in confusion. "What's whose name?" he asked, obviously not following the conversation in his drunken state.

Phoenix sighed, because he desperately didn't want to say it. "The woman you're in love with."

Because - as vein as it was - Phoenix believed that it had to be a woman who Miles was in love with, because if he was into guys, then surely… well, he hadn't chosen Phoenix, had he?

"Oh." Understanding dawned on Miles' face. "It's not important. It doesn't matter."

Phoenix sighed - that would have to be something he would get out of his friend at a later date. But he still had a few more questions to ask.

"I thought you said you were scared of- of falling in love?" Phoenix asked, any drunken haze driven away by the shock of finding out that Miles was in love.

Miles, on the other hand, was still sipping at some alcoholic beverage that Phoenix had forgotten the name of, which meant that he was getting progressively less helpful, and proportionately more happy-go-lucky.

"Yes, I was. But then I remembered what you said. You said that I didn't have to be afraid, because if I fell in love with the right person, then they wouldn't break my heart."

Inwardly, Phoenix cursed his good advice. If only he hadn't given it, then Miles might still be- he might still be available.

"Oh. Well, how long have you known her?" was Phoenix's next question.

Miles shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've known them for ages. But I've only _known them _for a month or so."

Phoenix nodded to himself, and, not for the first time, felt a stab of jealousy pierce at his chest, it's strength so intense that he wanted to double over and cry.

_This person, this women, is lucky. Edgeworth is going to tell her everything - everything that he refuses to tell me. He's going to treat her like she's the most important person in the world - the same way I would have treated him._

_He's going to spend all of his spare time with her, and not with me. We've already started drifting apart, and it's all… because of her. Why did I ever agree to help him find a partner? It's made everything worse._

_Edgeworth… all I've ever really wanted is to be your best friend; the person you share things with. And we were so close to reaching that point, but now… I don't want to lose you._

* * *

Three painfully long hours later, the alcohol had worn off both men. Miles was left being irritable, and Phoenix was left feeling numb and slightly empty.

"Can we just go home now, Wright?" Miles asked, bringing a hand up to rub at his temples. "I can feel a headache coming on, and being in this club will not help in the slightest."

Phoenix sighed, and wished for the umpteenth time that he had just let Miles have his issues, and that he hadn't been so eager to discover them.

"Okay, if you want to." Phoenix muttered, feeling angry and upset and betrayed all at the same time. "I just want to go to the bathroom first."

He then turned on his heels sharply, and stormed into the bathroom, blinking back tears as he went.

After relieving himself, Phoenix turned to wash his hands, and was surprised to notice Miles leaning up against the sink.

Irritably, Phoenix washed his hands; avoiding eye contact with his friend, because now that Miles was sober, he knew that it would only take a second for him to realise that something was up.

"Thank you for tonight." Miles muttered after a few seconds. "I will hate you tomorrow for the hangover I will undoubtedly have, but I- I enjoyed the night."

_Well, I'm glad one of us did._

"That's good." Phoenix murmured, turning to flash Miles a very fake smile. "It's always good to step out of your comfort zone."

Miles was silent for a few more seconds, and Phoenix reached for some paper towels to dry his hands; shredding up the paper as he did so.

"Wright, I'm not…" Miles trailed off, and cleared his throat. "I'm not usually too good at picking up on other people's emotions, but you seem… distressed. Is everything all right?"

_Of course it's not all right. You're in love with someone who isn't me._

"Oh, everything is fine." Phoenix muttered, his hand-drying becoming more frantic. "Everything is absolutely tip-top perfect."

Miles rolled his eyes, and swept a hand through his silvery hair. "I'm not stupid, Wright. I can tell that you're being passive aggressive. Have I… Have I done something to annoy you?"

And then Phoenix burst. All of his hurt, his anger, his regret and pain - it all came flooding out of him in a loud, frustrated mess.

"Well, good job, Edgeworth, you've finally recognized an actual, human emotion." Phoenix said, slamming his hands down on the counter. "It's about time, because you've obviously failed at picking up any other emotion."

Miles flinched back at Phoenix's harsh words. "Whatever you're accusing me of, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I can't think of anything I've purposely done to make you act in this way."

Phoenix shook his head. "It's always the same old story with you, Edgeworth, isn't? You always think about what you've done, instead of what you _haven't _done. Well, guess what, this time it's about what you didn't do. What a surprise."

Phoenix wasn't even sure that he was making proper sense, but he hoped Miles would understand what he was trying to convey.

"I don't understand what you're getting so worked up about." Miles was struggling to stay calm, Phoenix noticed. "Either spit it out, or stop with this nonsense so we can leave."

"Yeah, because that's what you really want, isn't it? To leave me. It doesn't matter how nice a day we've had, or if you really enjoyed it, but you always want to leave because there's always something better to do." Phoenix snapped, even though he could tell he was being a bit childish.

A hint of realization flickered across Miles' face. "Are you annoyed because you want me to spend more time with you? Because we've had this conversation countless times, and you know that I have work to do."

"Oh, but is it work, or have you just found someone better than me?" Phoenix demanded, his breathing coming out a little uneven. "What is it that they say? 'Bros before hoes'?"

The confused look was back on Miles' face, and Phoenix wanted to slap it off. "What are you even talking about, Phoenix?" _Phoenix, not Wright. _"I am not spending my time with any women, promiscuous or not."

Phoenix snorted, and shifted his body so that the edge of the sink wasn't digging uncomfortably into his hips. "Oh, really? Then why did you completely ignore me for a week, huh? Hanging out with this girl you're in love with? Just tell me the truth, Edgeworth."

Miles slammed his hands down on the counter too. "I have been working solidly for the past week. I have not been hanging out with 'a girl I'm in love with'. Get your facts straight before you confront me, Wright, because this only points out how much of an idiot you are."

Phoenix was almost at the point where he wanted to throttle his friend. "Then why have you been avoiding me for so long? It was definitely an effort to get you to come out tonight. And then you say that you've 'enjoyed the night'. Talk about sending mixed messages."

"Oh, because you're so much better." Miles rolled his eyes. "What, with all your 'I'm not in a relationship with Ms Fey', when the evidence _clearly _states the opposite, and then the fact that Ms Fey herself seems certain that you've got a thing for the pretty dark haired women we defended at that God-awful place."

"Don't drag my love life into this." Phoenix demanded hotly. "I've told you the truth about both Maya and Iris, and that it that _I am not in love with either of them, _nor am I dating either_. _Which is more than you can say, since you're so madly in love with some random woman who you won't tell me the name of."

"No, I am not." Miles snarled, his voice low. "I never said that."

"Then why?" Phoenix was shouting now, and he was thankful that the bathrooms were empty. "Then why have you been avoiding me? Why did you tell me you'd fallen in love? Why are we drifting apart from whatever it was we could've had?"

"Jesus Christ, Phoenix, it's because I fucking love _you_. Okay?" Miles exploded, bringing his hands down to slam on the cheap ceramic. "I have fallen in love _with you. _Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Time stood still, and the only thing Phoenix could hear was his own breathing; deep and slow and forced.

"…What?"

Miles took a steady breath in; all of his anger dissipating from his body.

"It's just… sometimes I find myself staring at this amazing, brave, inspiring person, and it always takes me by surprise when I realise that the person I'm looking at is you. You're everything that I want; everything that I think I need, and… well, I didn't want to tell you because I can't imagine even for a second that you'd feel the same way."

Phoenix opened his mouth, ready to say something, but the words stuck.

_Edgeworth… you love _me? _Are you serious? You've properly fallen in love with me - the way I've fallen in love with you?_

"Miles- I…" It felt strange, hearing his friend's first name roll off his tongue. But Phoenix found that he liked it. "Miles, I don't- I mean, I never-"

Miles waved his hand dismissively. "I don't want - or need - your sympathies, Wright. I am perfectly capable of coping with rejection. I understand that you don't feel the same way, and I respect that."

Phoenix swallowed harshly, his voice croaking as he said, "But what if I did?"

Miles glanced up at him, and Phoenix couldn't decipher the look in his eyes. "What if you did what?"

"What if I did feel the same way?"

Miles eyes widened for a second, and a flash of something else Phoenix didn't recognise flickered through his steel-grey eyes.

"Oh. Well that would be- it would be good. I," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I would like that."

Phoenix smirked. "Oh yeah?"

Miles nodded. "Yes."

And so Phoenix - who was incredibly relieved because, yes, Miles was in love, _but it was with him_ - took a step forwards, and connected their lips together in the gentlest, softest way he could.

Miles instantly melted into Phoenix's touch; his arms making their way to wrap loosely around Phoenix's waist, his fingers resting lightly - hesitantly - against the small of Phoenix's back in a way that made him squirm with desire.

In response to Miles' accidentally arousing fingers, Phoenix deepened the kiss; licking his tongue between Miles' lips until they parted, causing tentative tongues to touch and waltz around each other in a passionate dance.

The kiss remained relatively innocent, despite Phoenix's unintentional moans, and after a few minutes, Phoenix broke away, and pressed small butterfly kisses to Miles' jaw line.

"If it isn't obvious, Miles, I feel the same way." Phoenix murmured after he had gathered enough strength to speak. "I never thought that I would, you know, fall in love with you, but I have, and I don't regret any of it."

Miles smiled then, and the undeniably happy look on his face was almost better than the previous kiss had been. Phoenix had never seen him smile as brightly as that, and to know that it was him who had inspired such a look made his stomach do strange things.

"I'm glad."

The kiss didn't say gentle after that, not at all. Though the first few minutes had been shy and sweet and soft, after Miles shoved Phoenix up hard against the sinks, and somehow the tap had got turned on - well, it ended up being a lot rougher than initially planned.

And neither men minded one little bit.


End file.
